


region 11

by trxnch (midnightmingi)



Series: the dark ones [2]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Brendon Urie - Freeform, Lots, M/M, Panic at the Disco - Freeform, Sequel!, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Vampire AU, Violence, fall out boy - Freeform, i'm back tho, josh dun - Freeform, joshler - Freeform, patrick stump - Freeform, pete wentz - Freeform, some characters i made up are included, twenty one pilots - Freeform, tyler joseph - Freeform, y'all i know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-03-23 13:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 28,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13789041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmingi/pseuds/trxnch
Summary: “we’re going to stay out of trouble, and just live. we’re gonna live.”“what if we don’t?”“then we’ll try as hard as we can. you can’t do anything unless you try, right?”(S E Q U E L  T O  K I L L J O Y)





	1. the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> AYY LMAO
> 
> you guys i felt like i was gone for an eternity
> 
> i was writing this story and completely stopped, mainly because i wasn't feeling it. i really wanted to make a sequel for killjoy, but i just wasn't feeling inspired, had the phattest case of writer's block, stuff like that. but i was like hmm why not just try and see if i could turn this into a story? 
> 
> i feel like this might be on the longer side, but then again i could be wrong. i'm still writing, so updates will be slow, but i'll upload the first few chapters i had before i took it down and then a couple new ones after.
> 
> if you're reading this, thank you! thank you for sticking around with me, even then i've been gone. hopefully, you enjoy it!

josh was falling.

excruciating, lasting pain and faded vision was what he last remembered, the nighttime sky morphing into grey. he was shaking, feeling his body begin to go. orange flames danced against the nighttime, drowning out the stars and outshining the moon. he was running, faster and faster, trying to get back to him.

he was chasing him, wanting to see his face one more time before he plummeted.

the night was its darkest that day. he still felt the whispers of his touch on his numbing skin, and the dying gleam in his glowing eyes as the sky grew darker. he remembered the words he mumbled, his voice like tissue paper through a shredder. he still saw his squinted eyes and joyful grins, still heard his heart beat. he casted a white light over him, telling him to hold on, to not fall asleep.

he was tired, yet, he felt he couldn’t let him down.

he was out of his mind, using everything to push himself out of darkness, to reach that overwhelming light from the pit of black he was surrounded in. josh reached up, stretching his right side and to try to at least brush his fingers over that light, to see if it would get him somewhere.

what was it? heaven? hell? would it hurt? would he feel nothing?

_he was almost there._

the light was pulsating underneath his sensitive fingertips, like a volcano about to erupt. he could almost hear it, rhythmic vibrations in his ears, deep in his head. josh hesitated, staring up at it in wonderment and risk. he couldn’t know what was going to happen, but he felt someone was calling him, telling him to keep reaching. he tried, using his free hand to block out the light from his eyes as it grew in brightness and heat.

he was burning by now.

he reached, and finally, his fingers sunk into the light. he could feel it.

it melted away from the center out, replaced with that same dark sky he fell away from, and the face of the one who he wanted to get back to.

_killjoy._


	2. falling

“...j-josh?” tyler hesitantly asked, frightened thoughts pulling at the back of his mind as he saw josh’s eyes shining.

“tyler? what...what happened to me? how long was i out?” josh asked, leaning up slowly.

he bones felt like wood, his blood stale and heavy, yet he felt empty at the same time. he was numb, blowing out a breath and looking towards the overly bright, flashing red lights of the firetruck to the left of him. he squinted in the light, seeing the grey smoke blow away from the charred, old house as the firehose successfully suffocated it.

“um...almost half an hour.” tyler said, his voice laced with fear.

he’s never had someone come back on him before, especially after this short time. he’s learned that it takes hours, even days, for someone to do that.

josh took less than thirty minutes.

“why is everything so bright? is it daytime?” josh looked around, his voice sounding like sickness and his throat feeling like sandpaper.

“n-no.” tyler said, looking away from josh’s golden eyes.

he was so used to them being hazel, being so full of life and pep. now, they were glowing yellow, and only screamed death, and soon blood-lust, much like tyler’s. he couldn’t help but feel guilty, like it was his fault josh turned. he didn’t know how josh would handle it, or if he even could, and he began to panic. he hid his face in his hands, feeling his head begin to hurt.

“hey, what’s wrong?” josh asked, his raspy voice soft.

“josh,” tyler sank to his knees next to him, his eyes sad, “you turned.”

“into what?” josh asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

tyler sighed, unsure of what to do. his mind wanted to spin one way, yet there was something that wanted to turn the other, and he was stuck between these two directions. he didn’t know whether to tell him or let him figure it out by himself. he knew he’d be upset either way.

josh studied tyler’s face, his confusion quickly turning into understanding when tyler wouldn’t stop staring at him. the night should have been darker, yet it felt like sunset. he felt odd...old, almost, and the last thing he remembered was the hive.

he should have been dead, he remembered, but he wasn’t.

the gnashing teeth, the bloody mess, the hot breath on his neck.

he turned into one of them.

josh felt his stomach cave in and his lungs collapse, and he couldn’t breathe. his chest rose and fell as he tried to calm himself down. he felt like he was dying all over again, and his arms gave out as he sank in the grass. he could barely feel the blades scrape his ears and neck, and the night was spinning. he wanted to scream, to just take a nap and he would be fine again, back in his room, with tyler by the window like it was before.

“josh! josh, you have to calm down!” tyler said, kneeling beside him again and watching as his eyes began to literally flicker from red to golden.

he was getting hungry, and it seemed he was trying to stop himself from giving in.

tyler’s voice was like the surface of a puddle you find after a rainy day, or the ripples in a lake when a fish jumps out of the water. his face was becoming a blur against the navy sky, and soon, he was black again.

_he was falling._


	3. ice cream

josh woke up slowly, squinting his eyes in the bright sunlight penetrating the window in front of him.

he was against something firm and soft, arms wrapped around his waist, and legs like a bent railing to the sides of him. he looked around, a familiar scent surrounding him. he took a deep breath, realizing his hands were lazily holding onto the ones securely around his waist.

tyler.

he was sleeping, exhausted from carrying and worrying about josh all night. josh assumed it was the mid-morning, judging by the dew drops on his window and the orange glow of the sun lighting up the specs of dust floating around his room. he still felt stale, but being in his own bed, with tyler’s soft breaths being the only sound in the room, it made him feel alive again.

like he had nothing to worry about.

tyler stirred underneath him, sighing out of his nose and tickling the side of josh’s throat. he craned his neck, looking at tyler’s brown eyes and smiling.

“hey, josh.” tyler said, returning the gesture and kissing his cheek.

“hi.” josh rested his head on tyler’s chest again, sighing and staring ahead of him.

he had many, many thoughts pooling in head. he didn’t know how he would deal with this, or when he’d be blood thirsty. he didn’t know if anyone was out to get him now, or if he even belonged anywhere, but the only place where he felt welcomed right now, was here.

josh looked down at his hands, his fingertips still holding a light tinge of blue.

“...i really turned, didn’t i?” josh asked, his voice monotonous as his gaze never left that subtle reminder that adorned his fingers.

tyler only nodded after a moment, josh shutting his eyes.

“what am i supposed to do?” he asked, drowsy.

he had a small lisp, and it felt like his mouth was swollen. tyler quickly pulled him out of his thoughts as he spoke again.

“we’re going to stay out of trouble, and just live. we’re gonna live.” tyler said softly, hugging josh closer to him.

“what if we don’t?”

“then we’ll try as hard as we can. you can’t do anything unless you try, right?”

josh shrugged, taking tyler’s hands in his and kissing his right one. he looked towards the bathroom.

he felt grimy; a shower would really help him right now.

a wave of realization came over josh, his hand flinging to where his silver nose ring should be. it wasn’t stinging at all; he wasn’t feeling any pain like he knew he should. he felt for a little ridge where the ring would be, awaiting the burn, but he only felt a small hole in his smooth nose.

“ty-”

“i took it out before you woke up again.” tyler shrugged, josh flicking his eyes to tyler’s scorched fingers around his waist, still red. “you could wear a gold one instead, or a steel stud.”

josh pouted, sighing.

“do you want to go out for ice cream later?” he asked hesitantly, getting up from the bed. he needed to take his mind off of everything right now.

tyler’s eyes lit up at the thought, and josh couldn’t help but grin. he liked seeing tyler smile.

but speaking of teeth.

josh turned towards the bathroom, his heart thumping with anticipation. he leaned against the bathroom counter, smiling widely. his eyes grew wide as he stared at his sharped teeth, the canines significantly bigger than the rest of them. he sighed, closing his mouth and feeling how big they really were. he barred his teeth again, poking them in both disgust and awe before turning away from the mirror and turning on the shower.

“tyler!” josh whined, frowning. “my teeth are pointy.”

“oh, same.”

“and how come we could see ourselves in the mirror?”

“i don’t know. how could we could do that but not take pictures?” tyler asked himself aloud.

“is it because we’re different or something?”

“maybe. we need lore books.”

josh nodded, feeling the shower underneath his palm and taking off his clothes when he felt it was hot enough. he stepped underneath the warm spray and closed his eyes, letting himself be swallowed by the stream of hot water hitting his back. he felt better as the dirt and dried blood from his neck rinsed off in the shower, but he was terrified out of his mind. he didn’t know what would happen to him.

he was technically ageless, and josh always said to himself that he wanted to die before he got too old.

life really doesn’t keep promises.

he paused when he heard the door open softly, shutting again. he saw a murky silhouette behind his shower wall’s glass, shuffling and moving around, and soon the door was being slid open and tyler stepped inside with him.

“you’re scared. i’ve come to make you feel better.” tyler said.

josh tilted his head in confusion. “you couldn’t just sit on the counter and talk to me or something?” he asked, a playful ring to his voice.

tyler only smiled shyly, looking at his feet with a shrug as a tiny blush bled into his cheeks. he _could’ve,_ but did he want to?

heck no.

“it’s okay, killjoy. i’ll get your back.” josh said, his voice tired, yet his eyes held the last bit of energy he was trying to hold on to.

he felt like he slept too hard, needing to go to bed again to feel better. he couldn’t, though. he switched places with tyler and poured his soap onto a washcloth from the rack as he turned around, scrubbing it together and rubbing tyler’s back with it. tyler grabbed the facewash and washed his face like how he remembered seeing josh do, stretching his neck a bit to rinse the suds off.

when josh thought about this from a different standpoint, it was almost like taboo, two undeads, taking a shower together.

it was then josh mentally grimaced and decided he’d think about things from his own standpoint.

tyler helped josh, and soon they were both in towels, trying to find clothes to wear. josh opted for a ramones t-shirt, while tyler picked an old arctic monkeys one that josh had found at the bottom of his dresser drawers.

“what ice cream flavor do you want to try this time?” tyler asked.

josh had told him the last couple of times they were together that he would try a new flavor, but he had yet to get out of his endless cycle of vanilla bean with rainbow sprinkles on top. tyler always would tease him about this, and josh would always tell him he would do it next time, but did he?

nope.

“maybe...chocolate.” josh smiled, keeping his hand balled up in the ends of his towel so that it wouldn’t fall off of his hips.

“wow.” tyler giggled, holding the arctic monkeys shirt up and examining it.

he really did like the band tees and ripped jeans that josh wore a lot. maybe he’d get a job and buy his own clothes so that josh wouldn’t have to wash his clothes so much. they were silent now, getting dressed in their own corners and not bothering to find something to talk about. not that they needed to, but still.

all this silence brought a very important thought to tyler in an instant, though.

“josh!” tyler shouted in urgency after pulling his pants up by the window.

josh gasped, turning to look at tyler now standing behind him with a pout from the bed. “you scared me.”

tyler’s expression changed from mock-fear to a cheesy grin. “i love you.”

josh blinked at tyler, a shy smile breaking out on his face when he heard that. he almost forgot how those words made him feel. he heard them last night, but it was different today. tyler’s tone was different, and the way his words dripped off of his tongue made josh’s heart fill.

tyler’s smile fell slowly as he focused on josh’s lips, taking him in again. he hooked his fingers in josh’s jean’s beltloops, pulling him closer and kissing him softly in the middle of the room. the morning sunlight pouring through the window began to feel even warmer, and tyler felt like they were in the middle of an open field, with bees buzzing and small breezes making the sunflowers billow at their feet. josh’s hands made their way to tyler’s neck, their chests flushed against each other. tyler breathed through his nose, holding josh’s waist tightly, smiling into the kiss at the butterflies in his belly.

josh pulled away slightly, his lips hovering over tyler’s and his eyes still shut, feeling tyler’s nose pressed against his own as their foreheads met.

“i love you, too.”


	4. now what?

“tyler, what am i going to do now?” josh asked calmly, watching the sun begin to set, its light bouncing off of his vanilla bean with _chocolate_ sprinkles.

he was still sort of numb to it. he knew he was something different, but it was strange. it was strange knowing that you’re supposed to be dead, not an empty husk, possessed by blood lust every full moon. it was strange knowing that you’d have to bite and devour someone innocent just to stay alive, or have your eyes change colors depending on the time of day or what you’re doing.

it was fucked, really, and josh knew he wouldn’t get used to it anytime soon. if anything, he wanted to rip his skin off and pull the vampirism out of his body, but he knew that was very much impossible.

“i don’t know.” tyler said, his eyes focused on his melting ice cream.

josh watched tyler’s shadowed face, seeing that he was feeling something, yet, he couldn’t tell what it was. he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head, like something was trying to break though, and it bothered him. he pressed his hand against his head, making a face. tyler looked up at him, and soon he heard a whisper in his head.

_he hates me._

it was hushed and ghostly, but josh heard it clearly nonetheless, causing a shiver to crawl down his spine.

“is something the matter?” tyler asked.

josh took a moment to regain himself, finally nodding with a concentrated expression on his face, trying to pinpoint what the hell he heard. tyler nodded, silently going back to his ice cream, distracting himself. josh heard the ghostly whisper come to him again.

_he must hate me. this is all my fault, and i can’t even fix it._

josh’s heart sped up in fear and confusion, looking around the area as if a hint would pop out of thin air and tell him what the fuck was up with his head.

but then he realized. he’s read about this before.

“ty-tyler.” josh said softly, swallowing.

tyler looked up intently at him from his ice cream, his eyes darting back and forth between josh’s own, waiting for him to say something.

“i...i think i could hear your thoughts.” josh said, shaking his head slightly at how crazy he sounded. there was only one person near him, everyone else was inside the ice cream place or walking towards their cars.

tyler’s eyes widened. “are you serious?”

“y-yeah. it’s like a whisper in my head. it’s freaky as fuck.”

“josh, i told you not to curse.” tyler said, a tiny frown on his face.

“tyler.” josh deadpanned.

“you have to say sorry.” tyler said in mock offence, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away, his eyebrows raised.

he could see josh smile slightly and roll his eyes in his peripheral vision, trying to distract him from this new thing he’s got. tyler didn’t know this would happen so soon, but he did know that it was possible with only pure vampires. he was considered a hybrid in the...uh...“vampire world”, so he didn’t know half of the list of powers or abilities that belonged to a pure vampire.

his next task was figuring out just how josh became one.

he was all human, then he turned. it must have had something to do with the last one in the nest that night.

“fine, i’m sorry for saying ‘fuck’.” josh said, making tyler gasp and giggle.

“josh!”

josh laughed, tyler noticing his teeth and quickly getting distracted, his bubbly expression turning into a look of curiosity. he should have been used to it by now, considering he’s seen himself with the same type of teeth, but it was just so...weird seeing josh with them.

he suddenly thought they made him even better.

he saw josh blush, squinting his eyes slightly to figure out what he was so red for.

“i...i can hear your thoughts, remember?” josh said softly, tyler groaning and hiding his face in his hands.

josh only laughed, throwing an arm around tyler and feeling him bury his warm face in his shirt, hugging him around his waist. josh kissed the top of tyler’s head, looking at the warm horizon. the sky was beautiful, colors melted together like a crayon art, but yet, josh couldn’t enjoy as much as he wanted to.

he needed to think about everything.

he just needed time.


	5. use google

josh’s alarm clock blared throughout the otherwise quiet room, making him groan.

he groggily opened his eyes, feeling warmth next to him and turning his head. tyler was sleeping soundly beside him, his hands curled up underneath his chin and his knees to his chest. the covers were off of him, and he was only in boxers, so he must have gotten hot before the ac turned on. josh slowly brought the covers over his body, tyler unconsciously snuggling into him more. josh only smiled, and it quickly dissipated when his alarm clock restarted its intervals.

he reached over and pressed the button to make it stop, grabbing his phone from beside the table. he squinted in the black darkness of the room, checking the date.

august 23.

josh really, really thought hard about whether or not he should be bothered with school. he could literally send a note telling the school he was dead – it wouldn’t be a lie. he didn’t want to deal with anyone giving him weird looks about his teeth or the way he looked. he didn’t need any “you started halloween early?” comments, and most of all, he didn’t want to deal with zero’s shit about him being a witch.

he was already up, though. he put his phone down and slid out of bed to try and not wake tyler, but he stirred anyways.

“josh?” he asked, his voice coagulated with drowsiness.

“hey, ty. my alarm went off. i was going to make you breakfast after i showered.” josh shrugged, moving through the room.

his vision was ten times better in the dark now, and he could see everything like it was sunny in here. he could never get used to this.

“we could make it together?” tyler asked, josh hearing the sheets ruffle behind him, assuming that tyler was beginning to get out of bed as well.

“sure, if you want.” josh looked back and offered him a smile, seeing tyler return it happily.

“alright!”

tyler zoomed past him into the bathroom, josh shaking his head with a smile as tyler began to brush his teeth, holding the toothbrush underneath the water to wet it **(because for some reason i forgot to say that in the last book rip tyler’s gums)** before squeezing toothpaste on it. he grimaced at the taste, but continued to brush the night out of his teeth and soon the morning from his tongue.

meanwhile, as tyler vigorously brushed his teeth, josh grabbed his own toothbrush from the rack before turning on the shower. he wet it underneath the cold spray before doing exactly what tyler did, but this morning, tyler seemed to not want josh to brush his teeth. as he was shaving his face, tyler bumped josh with his hip, sending him out of the small, shared space of the mirror. josh rolled his eyes playfully, doing the same thing back to him. tyler pressed a finger into his creamed face, wiping it on josh’s nose.

josh went cross eyed to look at where it was, frowning and making tyler laugh. josh rinsed his mouth out while tyler finished, and with his wet lips, kissed tyler sloppily on the cheek. tyler grimaced, pushing him away.

“gross!”

“you love me.” josh said, turning around before taking his boxers off.

“true.”

josh stepped into the shower, closing the wall before washing his body.

“josh? what else to people that like each other do?” tyler asked curiously, checking out his face in the mirror.

he didn’t cut himself this time, nice.

“um...well, they go on dates, right? they get each other gifts, go on adventures...um...” josh tried to think, just as new to this as tyler was, “do other stuff.” josh shrugged, not thinking much about it.

“like what?”

“stuff.” josh once again, shrugged, realizing that he dug himself into a hole that he couldn’t get out of, because he knew tyler would keep asking until he found out what the “stuff” was.

josh didn’t even know what the “stuff” was.

“what stuff?”

“go on google, ty. they have more answers than me.”

tyler was silent for a moment, trying to think to himself. nothing came up.

“okay.” tyler quickly got bored of the subject. “how long are you gonna shower for? i am getting bored.” he sat on a cleared space on the counter.

josh opened the wall, peeking his wet head out. “what’s stopped you from taking one with me before?”

“don’t you want your privacy sometimes?” tyler asked, tilting his head.

“it’s quicker and saves water, **(oneshots tease ;))** but if you don’t want to, that’s okay, too. i’ll hurry.” josh said softly, closing the wall again.

tyler only huffed, because he did like taking showers with josh, but he’s heard of people wanting to be alone in the shower. and that’s how tyler found himself taking a shower with josh, taking longer than expected because josh kept telling him to turn around so he could help him get his back, but josh had to keep guessing the magic word to make tyler turn around, and even then, tyler got ticklish.

now they were in the kitchen, tyler waiting for josh to make breakfast.

“do you want to go clothes shopping today?” josh asked tyler, grabbing a box of cereal from the cupboard next to the fridge.

josh hated to think of it, but his mom’s inheritance money came in a few days ago, and he didn’t have college or a funeral or food to save it for, considering he was pretty dead now.

“okay.” tyler said, watching josh with a bowl in his hands. “i thought you said you were making breakfast.”

“i am. i never said i was cooking.” josh poured it into tyler’s bowl before taking the milk out from the fridge and adding it.

tyler scoffed with a smile, shaking his head and scooping his spoon into the cereal. josh did the same thing himself, knowing it wouldn’t fill either of their stomachs, but it was something. tyler was sat atop of the island, kicking his legs back and forth like a child. he happily ate his bowl of cocoa pebbles while josh did the same, leaning against the refrigerator and watching him, a small smile on his face.

“what?” tyler asked, still looking down at his bowl of cereal.

“what?” josh was pulled from his thoughts of that same boy, heat beginning to rise to his cheeks.

“you’re staring at me.” tyler said, his voice soft as a smirk played on his lips, eyes still focused on the cereal.

“it’s your fault,” josh shrugged, spooning cereal into his mouth, “no one told you to be so cute.”

“you’re annoying.” tyler smiled widely, his dimples lightly pressing into his cheeks as he finished his cereal. “you’re cuter.”

“impossible.”

josh knew what he was doing, and he knew it was working when tyler placed his bowl next to him and hid his smile in his hands, squinting at josh.

“maybe it’s your dimples, or your vampire teeth. they’re pretty cute.” josh said, flicking his eyes up at tyler in mock innocence while he finished his cereal. “or your laugh, or how my clothes are a little big on you.”

“hey, shush and c’mere, i need to tell you a secret.” tyler said, his voice hushed and his cheeks pink.

josh grinned, placing both of their bowls in the sink and going over to tyler, standing in between his legs and resting his hands on his thighs.

“ye-”

tyler cut him off with a kiss, one hand holding the back of his neck while the other was on his shoulder. josh sighed through his nose and lightly pushed into it, tyler’s head moving slightly with his movements as he scooted closer to tyler. josh’s arms snaked lazily around tyler’s waist, shifting his head and continuing to kiss tyler softly. josh felt that same jolt of emotion bump in his heart, and he couldn’t help but smile.

it felt as if tyler had said the words aloud.


	6. the mall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i'm really bad at updates i'm sorry
> 
> enjoy!

tyler and josh looked up at the many stores and brands at this new mall.

neither of them had been here, josh insisting that they go somewhere far to be surprised and try to find something different. he had driven all the way to what seemed like the edge of town, scarily enough, because the road had been blocked off right after the curve of the exit, and there was a huge mountain-like block that stopped it, as if trying to keep the people that lived here inside.

“what about that one?” josh asked, pointing to the sign on the shop black painted wall, animated graffiti and blood decorating the door.

“seems good.”

tyler followed josh into the store, unlinking their hands to go and pick out clothes for themselves. tyler skimmed through the shelves of ripped jeans and ankle socks, pushing through hung up sweatshirts that caught his interest for his size. he seemed to fit josh’s clothes just fine, so he was scanning for a large.

the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he suddenly felt a chill in the room. he stopped.

“hey, i’m leon. do you need any help?”

tyler looked up slowly, swearing the clerk’s eyes flashed bright green. he looked normal, longish hair underneath a beanie, a black cardigan on top of a white band tee. he had two black lip rings on either side of his bottom lip. they almost looked like teeth.

tyler instantly backed up, seeing his aura. he needed to get josh out of here. the guy knew what he was doing, too, or else he wouldn’t have that small smirk on his face, would he?

“sir?”

“uhm, no. i’m fine.” tyler shook his head quickly.

“can i tell you about the dis-”

“no, that’s okay. i was just leaving now, thanks.”

tyler quickly found josh in the tiny store, squinting his eyes a bit to try and see anymore auras, but his vision just turned up grey, seeing nothing around the customers of the store.

“josh, we need to go.” tyler said, grabbing his hand.

“what, why?” josh asked, holding onto a few bags of clothes he had already bought.

he lowered his voice to a hush. “there’s a werewolf in here.”

josh’s eyes blew wide instantly, forgetting that he was supposed to stay away from them. tyler looked back at the guy, seeing him watching them from the front desk, his eyes almost evil. tyler swallowed, grabbing josh’s hand and basically _running_ from the store into the crowd outside of the doors.

josh felt scared. he didn’t know what he got himself into, if he would actually be like the movies and he’d end up in a vampire war against werewolves or something stupidly strange. he still couldn’t believe he was living like this.

he was practically dead.

“i still can’t believe we’re in this.” josh said once he and tyler reached the opposite end of the mall, shaking his head.

“in what?”

 _“this._ vampires and werewolves aren’t supposed to exist! what if you’re really just a figment of my imagination or something? what if i’m dreaming and this is all fake? what if-”

tyler brought josh’s hand up to his mouth and bit his finger, josh gasping and pulling his hand away.

“ow!”

“did that feel real to you?”

josh pouted, walking with tyler through the mall. tyler turned his head towards the restrooms, instantly getting a headache, like when you roll your eyes too far after someone says something dumb. he stopped, the light in here suddenly becoming _way_ too bright for him, and he covered his eyes.

“ty? what’s wrong?” josh asked, putting an arm around tyler for support and finding the nearest bench by a toy store.

“something’s in that bathroom.” tyler said, his voice strained and his face turning red.

“what?”

_“something.”_

“should i go check it out?” josh asked, frantic.

“no, it’s...it’s fine.” tyler said, getting up from the bench and trying to ignore people’s stares as to why some guy was freaking out in the middle of the mall with red contacts in and an even redder face.

“i’m going to see what it is.” josh said, looking at the bathroom hallway, tyler trying to cover his eyes from people passing by.

he squinted, seeing something glowing red. he tried to focus on what it was, and soon his vision became blurry and grey. he saw someone’s red aura in the sea of happiness and disappointment around him as they walked out of the hallway and looked around, as if there was something she was trying to hide. she quickly ran a hand through her light blonde hair, her blue eyes meeting with josh’s, and he felt a chill ghost over his spine. she lingered for a moment, like she knew him, but quickly disappeared inside the store next to her, josh losing her through the clothes hanging up.

“ty.” josh said, tyler calming down from his headache. “i saw someone.”

“who?” tyler asked, blinking in the light, his eyes reverting back to brown.

“i don’t know. she was red.” josh shook his head, trying to think.

the girl looked normal, but yet, she was completely out of the ordinary. josh almost wanted to follow her inside, to get as close as he could to potential danger, but before he got a chance to entertain the idea, tyler was leading him to the bathrooms. he could feel an energy that seemed almost too powerful, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. it was like when you’re outside of a club, the edm music blasting in a muffled resonance from the inside. 

he needed to find out what it was.

tyler turned into the men’s bathroom, the stalls going past the urinals and turning the right. he looked at josh, whose eyebrows came together in concentration, trying to figure out what was making his heart beat slow and heavy, like a kick drum. he followed tyler down the empty stalls, quickly peeking in each one to try and find something.

they turned the corner.

on the biggest stall in this bathroom, yellow police tape slashed across the black door, warning people not to enter. it was torn, strips of the yellow tape littered on the floor as it hung loosely from the top right corner of the door, reinforced by a strip of black duct tape on the opposite side of it. tyler tried to peek in, seeing nothing but a toilet and a sink, but the stall looked like it was still in construction. the white tile abruptly stopped by the toilet, leaving a discolored wall of grey concrete.

“should we go in?” josh asked, staring through the crack.

tyler swallowed, removing the duct tape from the opposite side of the wall, and watching as the tape fell. he opened the door slowly, his eyes cautious. josh deadpanned in disappointment when they were met with a regular bathroom and bricks where the mirror should be.

“it’s just a regular bathroom.” josh scoffed.

“why is it bricked up where the mirror should be?” tyler asked, going over to it and tracing his fingers on it.

he felt pulsating underneath his fingertips, josh seeing his eyebrows come together in confusion.

“there’s something back here.”

“it doesn’t seem like it.” josh said, peeking through the crack as best as he could behind tyler’s head.

tyler pursed his lips together, trying to focus on the wall. there was definitely something back here, but tyler had no way of getting to it, considering all these bricks were here.

“i’m gonna come back later.” tyler said, more to himself than anyone.

“i’ll come with you.”

tyler nodded. “okay.”


	7. good

_heat. like the gates of hell were right on his tail._

_he couldn’t get away from it. no matter how hard he ran, how fast his feet hit the space underneath him, one foot after the other, it was on him. about to devour him, his soul. it was overwhelming, overbearing, and he felt like he was turning inside out._

_he couldn’t get away from it._

josh jolted forwards, a sheet of sweat like a collar around his neck. the thin, white sheets around him became heavy, woolen blankets, and he threw them off of him, the mattress damp. he looked around the room, trying to calm his heartbeat and terror. it was dark, except for the solid, creamy moonlight casting a milky shadow into his bedroom.

his stomach.

the worst pain josh had ever come to know was pooling in his stomach right now. he gritted his teeth together, clutching himself to try and stifle the growls, his breath becoming shallow. his mouth was like cotton, and he could feel his teeth growing. his heart was pounding in fear and confusion, yet he knew what was happening to him. he just didn’t want to admit it.

_it would just get worse in the light._

josh noticed something glowing dimly in his peripherals, casting his gaze to the corner of his room, right by his door. two red eyes stared back at him, but as he focused his vision, the room became brighter.

“hurry and put a shirt on.” tyler said, his voice low as he leaned against the wooden door.

he was used to this, so much that his stomach stopped hurting during a full moon. he never ate anyways, but he knew he needed to, tonight at least, before he starved to death.

“i can’t.” josh said, instantly revolted by the idea of sinking his teeth into someone else’s neck, and having his mouth filled with blood.

he's had a lick of it in his mouth from a cut gum or when zero would punch him in the jaw, and he absolutely hated the metallic taste. there was no way he'd be able to keep down more than a mouthful. the more he thought about the taste of blood, the more his stomach yearned for it. he groaned loudly at the sudden jolt of pain coursing through his body. it felt like he was being torn apart.

"you need to. you're not dying because you never ate." tyler said, sighing loudly and trying to think of a place where he could go and get dinner.

he hadn't done this by himself in a while. he didn't want to then, and he sure as hell didn't want to now. he watched carefully as josh slowly got off the bed, holding onto his stomach. tyler knew that feeling. it was like you were carrying jagged stones in there, and with every step they'd move, tearing across your insides.

tyler knew josh wouldn’t die today if he didn’t eat, but he knew how bad that pain was. he could use some relief.

josh put a loose, white t-shirt on, and soon they were walking outside of the house towards josh’s car. the streetlamps were extra bright tonight, and the moon was huge. josh had an almost permanent frown of pain on his face, clutching his stomach. tyler was used to it, feeling exactly what josh was feeling, yet he somehow ignored it.

“wait, shh. do you hear that?” tyler asked, stopping josh from opening his car door.

“what?” he asked, his voice lowered. it was beginning to get harder to talk, his teeth were lightly poking the inside of his lip.

as tyler and josh stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, josh finally heard it.

muffled music.

josh’s heart began to speed up in anticipation and fear, and his palms were beginning to sweat. he didn’t want to do this.

“tyler, i can’t.” he shook his head, taking a step away from the car.

“we need to.” tyler said, trying to find out exactly where the music was coming from.

that meant there was a dying house party nearby. probably at that same house josh was coming from when he met tyler.

“i’d rather die.” josh said, shaking his head.

tyler could see his eyes glistening as he looked down the street to his right.  he saw the faint glow of lights on in a house, the only one on that road that seemed to still be alive. tyler noticed this, too, and he was in front of josh, dragging him by his wrist. josh tried to resist, but his stomach hurt way too much for him to really try. tyler ignored josh’s pleas for him to not make him do this, to just turn around and make them dinner with stuff in the fridge, but it was no use.

josh looked up at the two-story house, a few blocks down from the charred nest. tyler hid them behind a huge bush, thinking of a way to take someone. he really didn’t want to do this either, and it was only now that he wished the nest was still around. that way he could take with no work.

josh swallowed harshly, trying to calm himself down. he had to do this. he watched as someone from that same house left, a blare of music following them. tyler squinted, josh’s eyes blowing wide.

_that was zero._

he made his way to the left, following the darkened street, the streetlamps on that side still not fixed.

“we need to move now.” tyler said, keeping an eye on him.

“i can’t kill him.” josh said, shaking his head quickly.

“he doesn’t have to die. the bite will disappear.” tyler said, getting up from under the bush.

his eyes must have been like fog lights; he hasn’t tasted blood in a while. he barely remembers how it tasted.

he was trailing zero. he didn’t look back once. tyler made sure his footsteps were quiet, and it was working.

he picked up the pace.

josh shut his eyes tightly, trying to get himself together to help tyler somehow. he knew he didn’t have the guts to hurt zero, no matter how mean he was. what would his mom think? his dad? that their son had been eaten?

josh couldn’t handle it.

he forced himself to move, to follow tyler and zero into the shadows, seeing tyler gaining on him. he watched as tyler wrapped a hand over zero’s mouth, holding him towards his chest. josh heard muffled screams and saw zero try and hit tyler behind him, but tyler was strong tonight and wouldn’t let zero go.

he latched on his neck, and zero’s legs gave out. he tried to pry tyler off of his mouth and neck, but tyler wouldn’t give up. zero sank to the ground, weakly hitting tyler’s arms. josh sighed deeply, wiping his eyes. he was going to wait this one out.

“josh! come here.” tyler said, looking back at him with eyes like stoplights.

“i can’t tyler! i keep telling you this!” josh shouted, sniffling, grasping his hair.

“you’re going to go hungry.” tyler said, zero unconscious at this point.

“then i hope i die.”

tyler groaned, hurling zero over his shoulder and bring him to josh, like a lion bringing a gazelle back to its pride. blood from zero’s neck stained the back of tyler’s shirt. he gave josh a look.

“i’m telling you, you need to eat.” tyler said, his mouth smeared with blood.

“you’ve gone a long time without eating.” josh defended, trying not to look at zero.

“i eat every full moon. others have to every single day. i’m not saying you have to, just do it now.” tyler tried.

josh sighed, his stomach beginning to hurt the more he thought about it.

“wh-what does it taste like?” josh asked, as if it was going to be different now that he was hungry.

“you know what blood tastes like. eat.”

tyler gently set zero down, blood staining his shirt. josh stared at him, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. tyler looked behind josh’s shoulder to make sure no one was coming, and that they were still hidden in the shadows. the house party had died a while ago.

thoughts were swarming in his head like anxious bees, trying to find the good in this. he couldn’t. the more josh thought about not wanting to eat, the more he did, and the louder his stomach growled. he was beginning to get a headache, and his stomach was empty.

he needed this.

he didn’t _need_ to find the good in anything.

josh quickly kneeled down next to zero, shutting his eyes and leaning towards his neck. the closer he got, the more his teeth seemed to sharpen, and he went for it.

he squeezed his eyes together as he bit down on zero’s neck, and it was the worst feeling in the world. it felt like he was biting down on a rubber stress ball, and as soon as he pierced it with his teeth, everything just gushed into his mouth. he would choke, if he wasn’t careful. he felt terribly different, and soon, it didn’t even taste like blood anymore. it was like water, quenching thirst after a long day in the sun. like cold orange juice in the morning.

it was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! how is it so far?
> 
> guys, i haven't heard from y'all in a while, so if you wanna tell me how this is please be bRuTaLLy HoNesT 
> 
> i feel like my writing is so bad rn but it's how i usually write lmao yikes
> 
> lmk!
> 
> \- love, mandi


	8. leon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i'm back!
> 
> sorry for the slow updates :( i'm trying to keep writing!
> 
> the story is coming along, so that's a good sign at least! thank you for keeping up with my slow updates, but tRuSt 
> 
> we're gonna do this.
> 
> enjoy!

it’s been two days.

josh still couldn’t get zero’s fading body out of his head. he didn’t really know what happened to him after he blacked out, but he didn’t want to ask tyler because he might have already known what he was going to tell him.

what would zero’s mom think? did he even have parents? did he even die?

guilt ate at him like termites to wood, as he sighed and tried to focus on the path in front of him. he and tyler went back to the mall again after that day, and when he pressed his ear to the brick underneath the mirror, he heard something.

like a soft wind.

there was definitely something back there, something hidden behind that closed off section of the highway, but he didn’t know how to find out.

he averted his eyes to the small lore book he was carrying in his hands, scanning over the pages, trying to find the key word “hybrid” as he tried not to let the wind carry his place away. both josh and tyler couldn’t figure out how he only took a half an hour to turn into one of those _things,_ when usually it takes days. in all honesty, it scared him, but this meant something else.

that josh was something else.

he had been inside the house today, while josh decided to go for a walk. it wasn’t too sunny, yet tyler still found it funny how josh’s skin was slightly illuminated in the pale sun.

he looked like a burning bulb.

josh sighed, closing his eyes and stopping for a moment. the whole point was to clear his head, to get fresh air, yet he still felt like he was suffocating under the memories of that night. he opened his eyes again, wanting to continue walking, but he thought he saw something.

it wasn’t clearly in front of him, but it was around. the air began to smell riper, almost gross. josh was confused, and was beginning to get uneasy, quite frankly. the hairs on the back of his neck stood in alarm as he heard distant rustling, like it was right next to his ear. he saw someone move through the trees.

“hey!” he called out boldly, and the rustling stopped.

“caught me.”

“it’s kind of hard not to with you making so much noise.” josh said, unusually laid-back, recognizing those green eyes. “how’d you find me, leon?”

“i come here often.”

“you need to take your daily walks? where’s your owner?” josh tilted his head, surprising himself.

it felt like he was being controlled. he’d never do or say things like this normally.

“watch yourself. i came here to warn you. stop trying to find out what’s back there.” leon’s eyes were emeralds as he walked towards josh, the sunlight hitting them.

on instant, josh knew exactly what he meant.

“why?”

“it’s nothing but trouble. you’re going to release things that were bricked up for a reason.” leon said, looking at josh.

“what’s back there?” josh questioned, even more intrigued now.

“just don’t try it.” leon shook his head, his eyebrows coming together.

“tell me.”

“i’m serious. it’ll mean trouble for all of us.”

josh sighed. “okay, fine. is that all? can i continue my walk?”

“bye. i better not see you at that mall.” leon said, turning away.

“what if i need clothes?”

“there’s a bigger outlet down the opposite side of the highway!” leon called, turning the bend of the path and disappearing past the trees.

josh watched him slowly turn down the trail near the playground in the distance, his heart beating in confrontation. how did leon know that he’s been back there? what are the chances that he’d run into him again? leon gave josh the weirdest feeling when he first spoke to him, and this just added to both his weariness and curiosity.

what the _hell_ was behind that wall?


	9. pete

night was beginning to fall.

josh had been out all day, walking around, trying. he was thinking about what leon said, and he was thinking about the wall. he really wanted to go right now, but he didn’t have anything to break the bricks with. besides, the security would hear him for sure. he needed to find a better, sneakier way.

his house was coming up in the flickering streetlights as he steadily walked down the side of the street, staying out of the light. he saw better this way.

this whole thing was _fucked._

it seemed like just yesterday, he was with his mom before the last day of school, just like any other day, and now they were both dead and he had to worry about dying again from starvation because it was hard to start eating people, yet it seemed like it was the easiest thing ever when he thought about that night and-

“josh, hey!”

josh stopped in his tracks, his eyes blowing wide.

shit.

he turned around, trying to act normal, but by the look on pete’s face he could tell he failed.

“your eyes look yellow in the dark, dude. you scared me for a sec.”

“pete? what are you even doing out here? you didn’t tell me you were in town.”

“see if you checked your phone like a good best friend you would know.” pete said with a playful smile. “i was just leaving from that party down the street. how have you been?”

“uh, fine, i guess.”

“you guess?”

josh only shrugged, seeing pete make a half-moon frown. “what’s wrong.”

“it’s just a lot of things are happening, right now. i haven’t been around my phone lately, i’m sorry.”

“hey, it’s okay! things happen. hey, how about we go out one day? just you and me, and we could catch up? i’m here ‘till sunday.” pete’s excited smile almost made josh beam, but he couldn’t, otherwise he’d say something.

maybe pete’s company would make him feel better. more like a person rather than a blood monster.

“yeah.” josh nodded, looking at the floor. “yeah, that sounds good. i’ll text you?”

pete nodded, before giving josh one last smile and turning around. “bye, josh!”

“see you.”

josh turned around, too, releasing a breath he’d been holding and leaning down on his knees. he didn’t know why, but it’s like everything hit him all at once and he felt like stopping. he felt like sitting down, right here on this sidewalk, and just stopping. he’d been so connected with trying to survive as himself, that he was losing touch with real people.

but, was he a real person? was it a good idea for him to still hold on to real people?

it’s like the idea disgusted him, yet he hated being himself even more.

_he just wanted this to stop._

he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his throat begin to tighten as his heart was drenched in hate, and in sadness. he hated everything, and that was the truth. he just wanted to leave.

he looked up again and stood upright, beginning to walk to his house. each step felt like he had bricks tied to his feet, and his steps were struggling underneath the weight. he barely felt the coldness of the doorknob underneath his fingertips as he finally reached his front door. he twisted it, and soon his throat was aching. he couldn’t cry, though, he didn’t want to; but the more steps he took towards his room, the sadder he got.

josh didn’t know if he could take this.

he opened his room door, expecting to see tyler sitting by the window and reading a comic, or researching, but was met with all quiet except for the faint whistle of breeze coming from his window. a paper billowed across the floor and just out of reach from where he stood. josh walked over to it, a little crumpled, obviously used. in the moonlight and darkened room, he squinted his eyes, seeing messy but neat handwriting in between the lines of the paper.

_josh,_

_i could tell you need room to think. i recognize that look from you. i’ve left, just to try and help. i’m going to fix this, i’m telling you that as a promise. but for right now, i’m just going to be gone. i’ll come back, but not until i’ve helped. i got you in this, and now i’ll get you out, okay?_

_i’m sorrry._

_-ty_

and like a volcano, tears crept down josh’s cheeks like lava, and he released the choked sob that was held in his tightened throat.


	10. something's back there

tyler had been here since 10pm. it was almost 11, almost closing time.

he’d taken some leftover supplies from _that_ night, filling one of josh’s backpacks with them. he had a weapon, just in case, and a pickaxe that they thought they might have needed, but ended up just throwing it in the back of josh’s closet.

good thing they kept it.

he stood in the bathroom stall, hugging himself, even though he had a black hoodie on. he was waiting for the lights to shut off in the mall, able to sneak past the security earlier, and he came after the janitors had cleaned everything. the system in here was terrible, but tyler didn’t have room to criticize. it worked out perfectly for him.

his heart began to beat in anticipation once he heard the loud scraping of metal bars across the floor, realizing it was the mall closing for good tonight. he didn’t know what to except, or if there was even anything back here and he’d just have to sit in this stall until it opened again at 9. he blew out a breath, absentmindedly tracing the stitched cartoon saturn on the chest on his hoodie, and suddenly,

the bathroom was pitch black.

he could barely see, confused as to why his vision wasn’t keen in the darkness. but he couldn’t forget. he’d been stripped of everything he could do. he was almost powerless now, like a normal person, yet he still had cravings and could die each full moon, like a vampire. he was somewhere awkwardly in the middle, and he couldn’t remember that.

blindly, he took his backpack off of the floor, a sense of panic coming through him because of the complete darkness surrounding him. he’s never had this feeling before. it was extremely strange and made him uncomfortable.

he pulled out the flashlight tucked in the corner of the bag and turned it on quickly, pointing it in front of him as if something was there.

nothing.

he sighed, shaking his head slightly to try and focus to the main mission. he needed to see what was behind that wall, what was closed up and blocked off the highway. he turned the corner and softly creaked open the last stall in the bathroom, the one with the sink and mirror, and closed the door behind him. he didn’t lock it.

he blew out a breath, pointing his flashlight at the bricked-up mirror wall. his heart was beating fast, and the ring of light that let him see was shaking slightly. the police tape had been reinforced, taped tightly and had a few more strips added. tyler didn’t bring any scissors, hoping that the tape would have been left alone, but apparently not. he sighed, setting the flashlight down in the middle of the floor so that it would encase him in a shadowy light. he grabbed the edge of one of the strips of tape, using the pickaxe to pierce the tape and rip it apart.

by the time he was done, his hands were buzzing pink from the friction of the strong tape, but he was one step closer to breaking open this brick wall. he really didn’t know what he would get from this, but curiosity got the better of him, and soon he was hacking away at the old bricks that took the place of the mirror in this restroom.

it seemed to go on forever. tyler had the pickaxe by his side, seeing that he had made a pretty big dent in the bricks, but yet there was nothing back there. it was like he was going to just dig into more brick.

“this is fucking pointless.” tyler muttered to himself, and he smashed the pickaxe into the spot that he’d been digging in frustration.

he expected it to fall as soon as he removed his hand, but it stayed there.

he furrowed his eyebrows, grabbing the handle again and pulling it, but it was stuck. he tried again, harder this time, and he got it.

tyler’s eyes widened once he felt a cold, steady breeze seep in through the small hole he just created. he kneeled down, trying to see what was on the other side. it was a light, navy blue, like when nightfall is about to come during a full moon. he couldn’t see anything else, though.

was it a room...or something more?


	11. over with

“just...give the... _fuck_ up already!” josh panted, shifting his weight onto his left hand while kneeling on the floor.

it was dark, and the moonlight was bright tonight. his muscles tensed up in waves under the moonlight, his whole body feeling it. sweat dripped down his face, the salty liquid running over small cuts and bruises given to him by the one person he couldn’t shake. they stung, but he was too overcome with panic, adrenaline, and even fear. he’s never been in a fight before, and he used powers he didn’t even know he had, and it was scaring him, to say the least.

“and have you fuck up the entire world? i don’t think so. i’m disposing of you now.” leon said, his voice low and gruff, hatred dripping off of every one of his words.

“what are you?” josh asked, gritting his teeth as he began to feel his wounds all over his body.

he was getting weak, and he really could stay in this position rather than keep fighting. he didn’t even know how he got here. he was just trying to get back home. his nose was bleeding heavily, and he could pass out if he wasn’t trying to keep his head together, his head light.  

“don’t worry about it. you won’t be alive to think about it anyways.”

josh hung his head, closing his eyes and trying to get back up, even if it was just to run. he needed to get away from here.

as he shut his eyes, it’s like time had stopped. he travelled through himself, looking inside, pitch black becoming wisps of lavender and navy blues, searching for something within his own self. he almost opened his eyes again to see if they were real, to see if leon was seeing these colors too, but he was too interested in seeing them mix together, like food coloring dropped into water. he never felt if leon touched him, or heard if he had said anything. but he felt his muscles tense again, and his heart was pounding in _something,_ and he had no idea what to do.

everything was brighter now as he looked up slowly at leon.

leon’s eyes went wide as josh’s golden irises fused into a shade of bright purple, and he stood up, a menacing look on his face, as if he was being controlled by a different supernatural force. leon was scared; josh was something else. josh heard whispers of leon’s thoughts in the back of his head, but someone else was thinking, quickly overpowering leon, and soon josh himself.

_stop his heart, stop his heart. you could do it, stop his heart!_

josh lifted up a shaking, bloodied hand at leon, frozen with fear and confusion. his face was blank, dreamy, purple eyes focused on his hand, as if it was something he’d just discovered and he was intrigued with it.

“y-you’re going to make a big mistake if you kill me, josh. a _huge_ one!” he yelled at him, trying to back away from him.

josh kept his mouth shut, and instead focused on his hand. the world suddenly fell into a greyscale, except for leon’s heart beating extremely fast than what was possible. each beat sent josh a wave of red, and he began to squeeze his hand shut. he blinked, and leon began gasping for breath. josh continued to close his fingers, focusing on nothing else but killing him, watching as his red waves turned grey.

he wasn’t like this. he wasn’t himself.

just a few days ago, he’d been freaking out over zero, but now, death was a virus that he’d become immune to. he couldn’t feel anything as he saw leon’s face turn purple, clutching his chest as he fell to the gravel beneath him. he sure as hell didn’t feel anything when he had stopped moving, stopped breathing.

maybe this was why he hated vampires so much.

josh snapped out of his daze, relaxing his tensed hand as his eyes glowed gold. he blew out a breath, stepping over leon as if he wasn’t lying dead on the ground, and shoving his hands in his pockets after wiping blood away from his nose, the warm light the streetlamps emitted over his head.

he could see black start to bleed into leon’s veins from his fingertips, and in the small winds that blew through josh’s hair, his ashes were taken away. it sounded like fallen autumn leaves rustling around.

he’s read about this before, but he was too numb to be interested in it.

his shirt was torn and bloodied, too, but the blood that was on his leather jacket he could remove. he ran his tongue over his sharp teeth and running a hand through his damp hair, seeing his house come into view.

well, it was a home once, until tyler left.

now it’s just a house he stayed in sometimes. and he was alone again.


	12. hideout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, i'm back. i've been trying to write, sorry for these terrible updates.
> 
> this is getting a bit too mystical for what i'm used to, but i'm trying to make it work! i have the ending planned out already as well, but how are you liking this so far? if you aren't, please let me know and maybe i could fix something that y'all don't like! i really appreciate feedback :)))
> 
> enjoy!

tyler couldn’t believe what the hell they had back here.

why a mall? why _this_ mall, of all places?

what he was seeing, through this little hole he had made with the pickaxe, was incredible. he was pretty sure he saw a bird flying in the sky, a black crow. he could see the same moon he saw outside, and he spotted a small, wooden, cabin-like building, but he wasn’t sure what it was. there was what looked like a wooden step bridge, but it looked old and abandoned.

he needed to make sure he was seeing correctly, but another time. night was coming to an end, and he needed to go, now.

he took duct tape out of his backpack and sealed the hole shut with as many strips as he needed, putting the police tape back over it. his curiosity was peaked at this point, and he couldn’t wait to tell josh about it.

but after. after he found out what was back there and fixed what he put josh through. he probably didn’t even want to see his face at this point.

tyler quickly put everything he brought back into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, pushing the stall door open and closing it back. he made his way back to the emergency exit, lodging a small rock between the door and the wall earlier so that it wouldn’t sound an alarm once the red lights came on. they shone brightly in his face, but he pushed the door open and kicked the rock away, running down a dirt path away from the mall.

his hideout wasn’t too far from here, but he had kind of met someone once he left josh’s house.

“did you find anything?” she asked, holding out a mason jar full of crimson liquid once he opened the door to the broken, decaying house.

“no, thanks.” tyler said, looking at the glass in disgust and setting it down. he hasn’t had an appetite for it. “and yeah. we need to go back again, it seems there’s like, a lost town or something back there. i don’t know, but i’m not going again without you.”

she nodded, her blonde, messy bun gliding with her head. “i’m tired. i spent the day trying to get through to leon.”

“leon? the werewolf right?”

“yeah. he’s so hellbent on preventing someone from getting in there. he didn’t tell me who it was, but apparently he’s being difficult.” she shrugged, leaving what remained of the kitchen area with a half-full jar. “i can’t pick him up when i’m at the mall anymore, though.”

“how are you two not killing each other yet? i thought we were supposed to be enemies.”

“ah, we were. our kinds don’t mix, but when you need something, you do anything you can to get it, right?”

“what could we possible need from them? they’re dog trash.”

“they have certain things we need. territory, people, whatever. we can’t get it by ourselves, but _that’s_ why we need to get back there. i’ve heard about the lost town, but i never thought it really existed. it’s crazy.” she shook her head. “if we could get back there, you know how successful we’d be?”

“i guess.”

“you’ll understand when you’re older.” she smiled sarcastically, seeing the look on tyler’s face.

“how old can i get?”

“older. goodnight.”

“bye, jenna.”

tyler sat down at the table, sighing and looking into his cup. the more he drank it, the more he wanted to chuck it out the window. it didn’t even taste good anymore, it just felt like he was drinking liquid copper. he couldn’t forget about zack taking away what made him himself, and if he was being honest, it was nice to be somewhat normal for once. he missed what he had. he couldn’t see people for what they truly were or how they were feeling, he couldn’t use his mind to manipulate things anymore, so was he really special?

it felt like he was just another person, waiting to die.

any minute, now.


	13. witch hunt

zero woke up with a start, his hand immediately flinging to his neck.

he sat up in bed, feeling the hard, crusted blood underneath his fingertips. it burned, like he poured alcohol on it the more pressure he put on it. he grimaced, gritting his teeth underneath the pain.

“what the fuck?”

zero threw his comforters off of him, practically running to his bathroom. he removed his hand from his aching neck, seeing dried blood all over the side of his throat, his mouth agape in shock. he frantically ripped off a piece of paper towel from the rack it was on, covering it in water and trying to scrub off the blood, dropping it as soon as it touched his irritated skin. he groaned in pain, squeezing his eyes shut.

his hands were shaking as he retrieved the paper towel from the side of the sink where it landed, bringing it to his throat again. he tried to go through the pain as best as he could, hissing loudly and trying to suppress any screams. he didn’t need to wake his house at 2 in the morning, especially on a week day.

he was so confused.

for the first time in a while, he felt scared.

_what the fuck was this on his neck?_

he finally was able to wash the blood off of his neck as best as he could stand, seeing two holes indented in his skin, still oozing blood. the skin around the holes was raised, and slightly pink, telling him this happened not too long ago. seeing bleeding holes in his neck freaked him the _fuck_ out as he stared at them in the mirror. he backed out of his bathroom, wanting to look away, but his eyes seemed to be glued to his reflection.

he covered the holes with his hand, slumping on his bed and trying to collect himself.

he felt so dumb, but he had an idea of what the hell this was. two holes conveniently placed on his throat? caked in blood? come on.

zero knew there was no way these things existed, no way that one could have gotten to him.

unless...

he looked up, searching his thoughts until it hit him.

“that _fucking_ witch.”

___

“dude, is that wh-why you’re wearing a turtleneck?” isaac asked between laughs, his friend looking ridiculous.

“yeah, man. you look like a fuckin’ grandma! **(listen i have my own selection of turtlenecks don’t @ me)** ” cole was literally bent over, trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard, his blonde-streaked hair in his face.

“shut your whore mouths.” zero snapped, his eyebrows coming together in the middle of his forehead in frustration.

he’d been trying to explain to these two that he was bitten by some type of creature, but he didn’t really believe it himself. he was trying to convince himself that it was some type of magic, maybe a curse that the witch put on him when he egged his house.

_something._

“how did you get bitten by something that isn’t even real?” isaac asked, making a face. “are you finally losing your shit, dude?”

“i don’t know! i’m telling you, either that or the witch.”

“the witch? you mean the ones in the house we egged?” he asked, his chest beginning to sink in realization.

“ _dude._ he choked you out without even touching you.” cole was next, his eyes widening realization hitting him.

zero nodded. “look.”

he pulled down his black turtleneck collar, revealing the two spots where he placed big band-aids, tiny spots of crimson decorating the bandage part of it. cole and isaac stared at them in awe, zero quickly pulling the collar back up before people walking by caught a glimpse of it.

“it’s that witch, i’m telling you!”

“okay, even if it _were_ the witch,” cole said, leaning against the lockers next to them, “what would you do about it?”

zero never really thought about that part. what _could_ he do? if the witch was still at his house, it’d be dangerous to confront him alone. and what would he do?

“teach him a lesson, i suppose.” zero said.

“you know what that means?” isaac asked, looking at cole with a smug look.

finally, as cole finally clicked, he looked at zero, a menacing smirk on his face.

“witch hunt.”


	14. tyler

 

josh had gone to the mall today.

it wasn’t as crowded as the last time he came here, and he didn’t feel threatened like how he did before. there was no sign of anyone else like him here, just mixtures of purples and greens and oranges. he hadn’t gone through a lore book recently, so he had no idea what orange meant, but he liked seeing it glow in the greyscale he was seeing now and decided that he’d make his own interpretation.

he hadn’t spoken to anyone in about a week, tyler being his only friend and source of company, but he left.

josh was starting to hate him for it. it wasn’t resentment, but he just didn’t like it. he was alone, once again.

he slid his hands in his leather jacket pocket, making his way towards the bathrooms. he was hoping to run into that girl he saw last time, or even something else. he quickened his pace and got himself into the men’s restroom, a few people in here already. luckily for him, the bathroom was around the corner, and it was almost hidden if you didn’t look for it.

josh pulled his hood up; it was kind of cold in here.

josh passed the other guys, turning the corner and seeing the stall. no janitors had been over here, because the tape hadn’t been reinforced. someone had torn it down, and kept coming in and out of it, because of the yellow tape near the hinges of its large door was severely stretched enough to where the “do not cross” had dissipated into grey mass.

josh reached out towards the door, and underneath his sensitive fingertips he felt the pulsing that tyler had been thinking about when they were in here. he heard him. he furrowed his eyebrows together, breathing in, before pushing the stall door open slightly.

“holy shit.” josh whispered to himself, seeing the small hole someone created into the tile and bricks, where the mirror should have been.

his heart began to beat fast. he only felt and heard vibrations in his ears the closer he got to it, reaching his hand out to the wall. the vibrations got stronger, and they seemed more panicked as they rang in his ears. it wasn’t terrible, but that let him know that whatever was through this hole, was _huge._

he then heard a shuffling behind him, completely halting his movements. he put his head down, trying to maintain a low profile and predict who was behind him, and if they’d make a move or not. he slowly put his hand near his side, shifting his head. the vibrations seemed to get a bit stronger, so whatever was behind him was something that shouldn’t exist.

he heard the same ghostly whispering he hadn’t heard in a while, sending a chill up his spine, but it sounded familiar.

_fuck. he’s gonna kill me._

he completely forgot about that.

“...josh?”

josh’s heart sunk when he heard him. he blew out a breath that completely deflated him, and his eyes began to sting. it’s been _weeks_ since he heard him, and now he just ran into him at this mall so many miles away from home?

he must have made this hole in the wall; he’s the one that’s been coming in and out of this bathroom.

he shouldn’t have seen him today, either, then.

“what are you doing here?” he whispered from behind him, josh still not moving to look at him.

he didn’t know how he’d react upon seeing his face.

“i could...i could ask you the same questions.” josh’s voice was soft, and it sounded so different to him before all of this happened.

like the same, timid josh tyler had met on the street in front of his house.

he heard the main bathroom door open, and he assumed that the guys in here had left. it was just them now, considering he didn’t seen anymore auras when he glanced to his right, just a greyscale of toilets and sinks.

“look at me.” tyler demanded, but his tone was still soft, almost pleading.

josh sighed, turning around but not directly looking at him. he could see he was dressed in all black, almost like he does, carrying a backpack in his hand instead of on his shoulders. he finally focused on tyler’s face and his heart sank. he looked tired, almost dead. his skin was more vibrant, but still had a pale tinge to it. his hair was definitely longer, but lighter as well, like he’d been in the sun too long for days at a time.

josh wondered why he was hurting himself like that. he knew how bad the sun stung, but it’s enough where it’s turning his hair, too? what was he doing to himself?

they both looked rough; it’s like they needed each other in order to just look alive. being without tyler for this long changed him, and if he was being honest, he was felt guilty for not going through it with him.

then he remembered who left who, and suddenly he scowled. tyler could see josh’s hurt underneath his temper, his hazel eyes dark. tyler opened his mouth to say something, but anxiety forced him to shut it for a moment before just saying it.

his voice was shaking.

“i know you hate me, and i was going to come back soon. i’m trying to fix it, josh, _i’m trying._ i didn’t leave for no reason, i’m trying to make this right. this was all my fault, and i-”

tyler was cut off as he felt weight, and soon arms wrapped around his midsection. he felt josh bury his head in his neck, just holding him in the middle of this stall. longing radiated off of him in waves, and tyler could literally feel how josh was like for the past few weeks. he began to hate himself for it, too, but he thought it would be better for the both of them.

he was wrong.

“i’m taking you home.” josh said into tyler’s neck, his voice shushed as he hugged him tighter.

tyler sighed into josh’s shoulder, shutting his eyes and melting into him.

“okay,” he nodded, the feeling of him and the thought of going home completely overpowering what he was supposed to be doing. “okay.”


	15. welcome home

josh made a face, “so there’s more of us out there?”

“yes!” tyler nodded for what seemed like the hundredth time, “why do you think the whole highway is blocked off? look, i found these.”

tyler zipped open his backpack, digging around for something. josh looked at the backpack, blinking into his greyscale. he could see that it omitted a dark red aura, different from tyler’s. he could see a bit of purple in there, too. something wasn’t right with that bag. it was his, but then again – it wasn’t.

“josh? look!” tyler held out old newspapers from years ago.

the paper was yellowing, a few parts of the of it ripped, but josh could make out faint print. some of it he skipped over, because it was smeared with water residue and completely unreadable. he took the papers from tyler’s hand, scanning over the newspaper.

_miners sent to pineland cove, haven’t returned._

_five miners sent to pineland cove to discover new ore shafts have mysteriously disappeared. detectives repeatedly come up short, and no reports have been found of their whereabouts._

he furrowed his eyebrows, flipping the pages until he got to another headline.

_two hikers set to pineland cove, have been missing since._

josh didn’t even bother to read a few sentences, he flipped over again.

_rescue team sent to gather hikers in pineland cove missing._

_three teenagers adventured to pineland cove, two missing and one with bites in his neck. died shortly after._

_man and woman turned up missing in pineland cove, gone for ten days and counting._

josh shut his eyes, his throat suddenly tightening. he knew there were more than one of these, all reports of missing people. something was in in that cove, and he and tyler were getting closer and closer to it, starting with the big stall in the corner of the men’s restroom. these articles just fueled his drive to get into the cove even more. if what tyler said was true, if he wasn’t making _any_ of this up, there were _things_ like him out there.

maybe a lot more.

“notice the dates? those are all near the full moons of the past few years.”

“i need to get in there.” josh said, looking at tyler and handing him back the news. “i don’t think you should do it with me.”

“josh, i want to see what’s back there, too. you can’t keep doing this without me.”

“i’ve done much without you. i think i’ll be okay.”

tyler shut his mouth, looking hard at josh. how much could he have done in a few weeks? he did leave him alone, but he really did think that it would be better for them.

now that he was thinking about it, maybe it was only good for himself.

“i’m sorry.” tyler said, after a moment of silence.

“don’t bother.” josh’s tone turned sour as he shook his head, getting up from his seated position on the floor. “i’m going to the hole. i’m finding out what’s in the cove myself.”

“but jenna and leon said-”

“i _killed_ leon!” josh retaliated, completely cutting tyler off. “who cares what he says?”

tyler flinched, shutting his mouth again.

 _josh_ killed leon? the normally sweet, quiet guy he had fallen in love with, who got flustered at the mere sight of him, who didn’t like seeing people get even remotely hurt, was capable of killing a whole body? he didn’t like seeing josh like this. something had happened while he was gone, and whatever it was hadn’t helped josh at all.

who was this, standing in front of him?

tyler completely turned off his thoughts a while ago, and he knew josh couldn’t read him, but yet his face still fell when he saw tyler’s reaction.

“i’m going.” josh sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking past tyler.

“what happened to you?” tyler stood up, his heart beating in confrontation and his cheeks heating up. he’s never yelled like this before, only once, before he and josh burned the hive.

but this type of yelling was different. it was like josh was a dam in his own lake. he was trying to get to him, to push through some wall he built up in these past few weeks he’d been alone. he didn’t know if josh really wanted him around anymore. hell, he didn’t know if he was still loved.

but he kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing. and josh had a short temper, especially now that he changed. this was something tyler only saw with the hive, the ones who plotted to kill just by looking at someone, or the ones who only believed in one option.

this wasn’t his josh.

“wouldn’t you like to know, huh?” josh stopped in his tracks, his voice low as he looked to the floor.

“josh-”

“ _you_ left me, and you want to know what happened? maybe you should have stayed.” josh’s tone was extremely bitter.

tyler couldn’t see his expression; he was facing away from him, and if he was being honest – he was scared.

“i’m sorry. i thought it would be best for us.”

“the only thing that would be best for us, was to stay together,” josh said, his tone still hushed as he turned around, “tyler, i had no idea what i was doing by myself. you _knew_ i needed you, yet you never came back. the only reason you’re here right now was because of a _fucking_ coincidence!”

josh wasn’t mad anymore. tyler saw his eyes glaze over, and he could barely feel him. he wasn’t angry.

he was hurt.

“i’m sor-”

“i don’t want to hear that!” josh voice began to crumble as he thought about these past few weeks, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

he thought about leon and the hunger, the urges and the resentment towards everybody. he wasn’t like this before. he just wanted to go back to school, going to sleep at 1am because he read too much, for his mom to come in and check on him, for tyler to be his only friend again, but he _couldn’t_ go back to that ever, and the more he thought about it the more he couldn’t hold back.

“do you know how much i missed you?” josh asked, all of his pride gone. he was spilling, and being in front of someone who he still loved, but didn’t feel like it was the same? he couldn’t stop. “every day i would hope that you’d change your mind, and come back, but you never did. i was _alone._ again. i didn’t know how to deal with it, i have powers that i can’t control and i _knew_ if you were there i’d be okay, but you _weren’t_ and...”

josh pressed his hands to his face, trying to block tyler out and calming himself down. hate was rising in him like a thermometer in hot water. he wanted to make tyler feel what he did when he was alone, because he couldn’t put it into words. he was hurting, and he didn’t know if tyler realized that. he didn’t want to hit him, or to yell anymore. he just wanted him to feel.

tyler was silent. the tension in the room was suffocating, and josh really tried to clear his mind, to clear himself. all of his efforts were short-lived, however, when tyler spoke up again.

“i love you.”

hearing his glass voice fall to the ground and shatter, made josh look at him. clear tears stained his cheeks, his eyes puffy and red. in that instant, all of josh’s worries, all of his fears, seemed to vanish. they were just... _gone,_ like that, just upon looking at him. tyler’s feelings came rushing back to him at once, from the first few days with josh to the last few weeks. he blew out a shaky breath, and, as if josh felt them as well, he came rushing up to him.

he was kissing him, pouring wordless thoughts into every movement he made. his hands were roaming all over him, as if checking to see if tyler was actually here. his hands settled on tyler’s waist, squeezing softly, and tyler soon became self-aware. like he was an ancient artifact that needed to be handled with care, otherwise it’d be dropped, and destroyed. tyler pressed his hands to josh’s jaw, trying to pull him closer, despite the pain in his lips as josh pressed against him. all of the “i love you”’s that were missed during these past few weeks were dripping off of their lips, the lost touches and kisses at the tips of their tongues.

he was kissing him like he was going to lose him again, like the world would crumble any minute.

josh moved backwards slightly, pushing the corner of his bed under tyler’s knees and feeling them give way. he pressed his knee in between them so that tyler didn’t fall flat on his back, his hands still on his waist.

“i missed you.” josh said against tyler’s lips, kissing down his neck and smirking against the goosebumps that rose on tyler’s sensitive skin.

tyler only let out a shaky breath in response, chills running up his spine and josh’s fingers feverishly tugged at the hem of tyler’s t-shirt. pent up aggression, tension, longing, sadness, melded together in soft, gentle touches and ardent kisses. tyler needed josh, and josh knew it. the way he pressed against tyler, holding onto him, kissing him so fervidly until his lips were raw and light bruises formed on golden skin, moving against him like a perfect match.

they sang a silent chorus, one that almost everybody knows, yet experienced it in their own way.

tyler gasped quietly into josh’s mouth as he yanked down the top of his sweats, his eyes still shut, his senses heightened. josh wanted him to feel. he wanted to hit him and press him against a wall and hurt him for leaving for so long, but instead these thoughts were renewed into something better, something that he had buried behind a wall of hate.

“i’m sorry.” tyler said against josh’s neck as he moved against him.

“n-no.” josh’s voice was low. “don’t be.” _it was something that we both needed._

_don’t be sorry._


	16. morning

josh woke up without a start this morning.

he opened his eyes, his room brighter as sun rays pooled into his bedroom. he didn’t have a bad dream last night, for the first time in a while. he felt warmth on his chest, quickly adjusting to his surroundings. he looked down, hair tickling his chin when he did.

_tyler._

he was sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. he looked peaceful, not at all like yesterday. he was pressed against josh, his face partially hidden by the sheets. josh took everything in, sighing.

this is what he missed. this is why he looked forward to everyday, to wake up next to tyler, and to just know he would be there. he missed the soft touches and the shy blushes, the giggles and tight hugs. he fell in love with _him,_ the only person who could ever understand him.

he began to think; maybe tyler was right to leave. maybe it really was better for the both of them. josh changed while he was gone, and if he was being honest, it scared the shit out of him. but he couldn’t stop it, nor did he really want to. it was something different.

tyler stirred next to him, the sheets softly rustling beneath them.

“josh? are you okay?” tyler asked, his voice deeper from sleep.

“y-yeah. just thinking.” josh shook his head, tightening his grip in tyler.

“about what?” tyler asked, looking up at him, barely seeing his face in the shadows of his room.

“nothing important.”

“talk to me, josh.”

“it’s nothing.” he said again, mainly because he barely knew what he was thinking about.

tyler pulled away from him, pushing him so that he was on his back on the mattress. he straddled his waist, putting his hands on josh’s chest for support. he would get josh to talk one way or another. josh put his hands on tyler’s hips to make sure he wouldn’t fall, wide awake now. he looked up at him, his hair disheveled against the sheets. tyler smiled.

“something’s making you think. tell me.” tyler said, ready to listen, absentmindedly tracing patterns on josh’s bare chest.

“i think...i think i might want to go back to the hole. see what’s behind that wall.”

“i’ll go with you.”

josh nodded, sighing out of his nose. tyler took a deep breath, focusing his attention back to josh’s chest. josh couldn’t help but stare. he hasn’t seen tyler in weeks. his hair seemed to grow a little longer than what he last remembered, despite it being days. there were new scars on his face, probably from trying to fix _it_. josh smiled; he really was trying.

tyler continued his patterns, but he felt josh staring at him. he was still transfixed on his chest and what he was tracing, but he knew josh was looking. his face began to feel warm, and a shy smile grew.

“stop staring at me.” tyler said, shaking his head lightly.

“your fault.” josh said, smiling widely. “no one told you to be so cute.”

“you’re annoying.” tyler hid his mouth behind his hand as he giggled. “you’re cuter.”

josh held the small of tyler’s back and flipped them, so that he was on top of him this time, tyler laughing from the shift. josh’s hazel eyes flicked back and forth between tyler’s own, feeling his stomach twist in knots again, feeling his face begin to warm, feeling like how he used to whenever he saw tyler, or even thought about him. tyler’s smile slowly faded, remembering how he felt around josh. he reached up, holding his cheek in his hand. he slowly ran his thumb along his skin, just taking him in.

he missed him.

“i love you.” he let it slip again. he didn’t care if josh was still mad, or if he didn’t love him anymore.

it was fine. he understood. but he couldn’t stop himself.

“i love you, too, killjoy.”


	17. jenna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS STORY IS OUTRAGEOUS WOW
> 
> but hey, i'm back! i have a few updates for you, thank you for reading this still, even though i haven't updated in a while! i hope you like it :))
> 
> enjoy!

tyler had set the dial to warm, leaving his hand underneath it to make sure it wasn't too cold. he let the faucet run, waiting for it to heat up. he sighed softly to himself; it was so long since he took a shower here, with josh. maybe he should-

"who are you?" he heard josh's voice from behind the bathroom door, looking up and staring at the tiled wall, trying to focus on who he was talking to.

"where is he?"

tyler gasped.  _jenna._

"i told you, i don't know who you're talking about."

tyler heard shuffling, and then pained groans from josh. he quickly stopped the water and rushed out of the bathroom, flinging the door open. he saw josh pinned against his wall, jenna holding her hand up. josh's eyes reflected the mystical blue light her hand was emitting, transfixed, while hers were purple. he's never seen that before, he didn't know what she was doing.

"jenna!"

jenna looked back at him, her eyes back to that same piercing blue he knew. "tyler!"

she let go of josh and rushed over to him, looking him over. "where have you been?

"i went back home. i didn't tell you, sorry."

"yeah, sorry's right. i was worried about you, idiot."

tyler smiled, making jenna do the same. "this is josh, then?"

"yes." he looked over to him, who was staring back and holding his neck from where jenna had him pinned. "how'd you know i was here?"

josh looked at jenna as she spoke to tyler, his vision becoming grey. he stopped moving, looking at the colored outline of her grey body. it was dark red, and he saw the same purples that he saw on tyler's backpack.

"listen, i came to tell you something. there's someone that could help you get your energies back." jenna said, adjusting the straps of the small black pack she was wearing on her back.

"who?"

"he's behind that wall that you want to get at so bad. i don't know his name, but he could help you."

"jenna, i found these articles," tyler went over to josh's bedside table, opening the drawer and pulling out the cutouts he'd showed josh earlier, "pineland cove."

"what?" jenna took the cutouts from tyler, her eyes scanning over them as her eyebrows came together, mouthing the words to herself as she read. "these just seem like disappearances."

"exactly," tyler nodded, "what do you think caused them?"

"i remember hearing about pineland cove when it was first discovered. it was a really rocky area. feet could have slipped, ropes could have broken."

"but so many? one after the other?"

"tyler, i'm sure it's just accidents. coincidence."

"n-no. i think so, too." josh spoke up, standing up against the wall. "people just don't disappear in huge numbers like that. those aren't the only ones."

"and look at the dates. what else comes out during full moons?" tyler said, pacing towards the opposite side of josh's room to the closet, kneeling down to begin to look for his backpack.

josh saw jenna open her mouth to say something, but as she glanced at the dates, she realized he was right. she looked frightened, josh could almost feel the chill that ran down her spine.

"these really can't be accidents."

tyler found his pickaxe and a hammer thrown in the back of the closet, where the sunlight didn't reach. he placed them in his bag, as well as other things he thought he would need. most of them were useless, like josh's small lore book or an extra tee, but whatever.

he was going with jenna to see what was behind that wall. something was going on with this town, and tyler was going to get to the bottom of it.

"aren't you gonna turn off the water? we got bills, still." josh called after them, rolling his eyes after not hearing a response.

___

jenna, tyler, and josh stood outside of the mall, the sun penetrating their skin with hot waves. it must have been weird, seeing three kids in front of the mall, just looking up at it, two of them sparkling.

tyler played with his ring, rubbing his thumb over the blue linarite in the middle of it. he could feel himself starting to crumble. he was beginning to feel everything that he shouldn't be, from the aches and pains to the constant exhaustion. he knew what was happening to him, and if he wasn't helped soon he would go back.

josh could feel tyler fretting, and he was under the impression that it was because he didn't know what was behind that wall either. he slowly reached his hand out towards tyler's who was distracted with what to do, sliding his fingers in between tyler's. tyler was snapped out of his thoughts, looking at josh and offering him a nervous smile.

suddenly, his stomach churned, like he was about to throw himself up. he turned his attention to jenna, who had her hand up and her head down, concentrating. she snapped her fingers, and the entire world stopped moving. the passersby near them had abruptly ceased, bags swinging in a permanent direction, cars stuck in brake. tyler looked around, panicked, letting go of josh's hand to go up to someone. the whirrs of old engines and the voices flooding the area halted, the world so quiet you could hear a pin drop. he touched a woman on her shoulder, feeling her blouse underneath his palm.

"what did you do?" tyler said softly, awed.

"stopped time. you could do it, too, can't you?"

"not anymore." tyler shrugged. "i never tried, either. maybe later, when i get myself back." tyler raised his eyebrows with a smile, turning around. "let's go."

jenna only playfully rolled her eyes, following tyler in between the crowds of people outside of the mall. josh sighed and shook his head, feeling uneasy. it felt like a whole bunch of eyes were on him, watching his every move, making sure he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to. he still heard leon's voice in the back of his mind, demanding that he didn't go back there.

telling him that he'd fuck up the whole world if he did.

_you have to find out. you have to._

josh's heart dropped upon hearing that same ghostly whisper he heard the night he wasn't able to control himself. he wasn't able to stop himself from killing leon that night.

"i don't have a choice." josh said lowly, a few feet behind jenna and tyler.

_you're doing the right thing. don't let leon lie. that's exactly why you stopped his he-_

"stop!" josh shouted angrily, trying to quiet the voices down.

his voice echoed throughout the mall and made jenna and tyler turn around in panic.

"what?" tyler asked, looking around the mall for any sign of danger.

"n-nothing. i'm sorry."

jenna studied josh hard for a moment. she could barely see those flashes of gold in trying to break out into his hazel eyes, trying to claw its way out of him. something was wrong with him.

she decided she would keep her mouth shut until she got behind that wall, though she knew that whatever josh was going through couldn't be fixed.

he was different.

in a tense silence, they eventually reached the restroom stall, the wall so damaged that cones and more police tape had been put up outside the door, and the wall was in the middle of being reinforced. before, it had been gaping from all the work tyler's put in, yet it was way too small for either one of them to fit. josh briefly shut his eyes and tried to adjust to the strong vibrations pulsating in his eardrums.

he could barely hear.

"wait, jenna, continue time. i'll lock the door and put a cone up." tyler said, grabbing one and leaving jenna and josh to themelves.

once jenna was sure tyler was by the main door, she grabbed josh's arm, pulling him to her.

"what are you?" she said quietly, studying his eyes. "i've never seen something like that before."

"back off." josh roughly broke himself from her grip. "it's nothing you should be concerned about."

"don't hurt him." jenna said.

"i wo-" josh's eyes flashed gold, a sick smile creeping onto his face,  _"i'm planning on it."_

they heard tyler's quick footsteps come from up the hall of stalls, and quickly shut their mouths, waiting for him. jenna watched as josh's eyes reverted to his same hazel, his smile gone. tyler nodded at jenna, closing the bathroom stall and feeling his stomach feel queasy again. the sounds of muffled voices and light footsteps came back to them, tyler feeling a bit better about being here.

"let's get to work."


	18. edge of the world

they'd done it.

the closer josh got to making that hole big enough, the more terrified he became. there was a whole different  _city_ back here, and if this really was that pineland cove that they were talking about, this was the last place he'd rather be. tyler and jenna didn't seem to mind, though.

they were all standing in front of the huge hole, the light winds from the inside billowing through their hair and clothes, the moonlight never fading as it shone down on the city. they'd been there for quite some time, taking in what they've just discovered. silhouettes of a church sat on a small hill near the edge of town, right against the moon. abandoned houses and buildings were scattered below them, a worn-out bridge blocking their way.

"what have we gotten ourselves into?" tyler muttered to himself, curious eyes flicking back and forth between what he could see in the hole.

a piece of tile broke off from just barely hanging on to the wall, landing with a  _clink_ on the pile they've made. it got jenna's attention, who then remembered they were on a mission.

"whatever we do, we can't split up. if those headlines were real, we're dead if we do." jenna said, looking at tyler and josh sternly.

she was the first to lead, josh swallowing thickly as he watched her lean down to get inside of the hole. tyler flicked his tongue over his lips, growing dry from nerves, and took josh's hand. tyler's eyes widened as jenna completely disappeared once stepping into the hole.

"josh, i'm scared." tyler admitted, dropping his eyes from the hole.

"she went through a ripple. i knew this was something else. it's vibrating like crazy, can't you feel it?"

tyler sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "i lost most of my abilities when we went to the nest. zach took them. i'm starting to turn, i know it."

"turn into what?"

"the in-between. just an ageless person, stuck with bloodlust but can't feed because it's scary to hunt and tastes bad. why do you think i'm scared? normally i wouldn't care."

"is that why we're here?" josh asked, looking at tyler, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

tyler nodded, looking meekly at the floor. josh sighed deeply, shutting his eyes again. he was so tired. he was tired of dealing with himself, and he was tired of what he got himself into. but if it were to help tyler, to make him okay at least for the time being, then he would go to the ends of the earth to do it.

and the edge of the world was right in front of them    


	19. the bridge

the air was still, like time had stopped in here, too.

when tyler walked through the hole, he felt sick to his stomach, like he did when jenna first halted time. the more he pushed through the invisible resistance, the harder his head pounded and the weaker he felt.

finally, he was here. he looked behind him for a moment, seeing as the hole he had created was just a scribble of grey matter against concrete walls that ran to the edge of the hill they were on. pieces of it had broken off, the normally off-white color turned a nasty yellow.

how long had this been here?

a chill ran up tyler's spine as he followed jenna and josh in silence, the crows calling to each other in warning that new bodies had entered their territory. he had immediately felt unwanted, like he didn't belong here.

"look, we need to get across to that ledge over there. that would lead us into the town." jenna pointed from across the hill they were on, the creamy moonlight illuminating a rotten, wooden sign that read  _pineland cove, population: 24._

"there's a bridge, but it looks dangerous." josh said, glancing at the wooden bridge set near the cabin-like building they were slowly coming up to.

some of its steps were missing, and the ropes that suspended it looked unstable. but tyler had a mission he was on, and it was to get into that city to make him normal again.

"let's cross it."

jenna sighed, shrugging. "okay. let's go. one at a time."

josh's heart began to beat in fear. he looked down at what the bridge was hanging over, a steep cliff that led to the roofs of houses and buildings. if he were to fall, he would be finished. he remembered tyler saying that they could be killed through normal means, and a huge drop onto sharp roofs was exactly it.

he gulped, looking to tyler.

"who's first?"

tyler blew out a shaky breath, feeling the wind begin to pick up and billow through his hair, rustling his clothes and the bridge. it moved slightly as he stepped on it, putting weight on his foot carefully to test it. he began to walk, his heart thumping in his ears, focusing on the other side of the bridge. it wobbled as he took a bigger step to avoid the missing planks, stopping himself and holding onto the rope.

"come on, tyler. focus." he whispered to himself, trying to calm his heart rate.

he carefully stepped on a plank, losing his footing when it gave way from underneath him. the bridge shook as he fell onto it, another plank falling loose and dropping onto the roofs underneath him with a ­ _clink!_

he couldn't control his breathing, panic beginning to set in as the bridge wouldn't stop wobbling beneath him. he saw the worn-out post that held the bridge up, seeing it almost halfway out of the ground. he couldn't care less at this point, pushing himself up and bolting to the other side of the bridge, almost slipping as another plank gave out. he launched himself onto the ground, taking a deep breath and bending over to expel it, trying to calm down his heart rate.

_"holy fuck."_

"go, josh. i'll be right behind you."

josh nodded, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. as soon as he stepped forward, his fear got the best of him. he stood, frozen, peering at the long drop beneath him. with his luck, the bridge would give out on him or jenna.

he couldn't do this.

the more panicked he got, the more he felt himself go dark. he felt like he was dying again, sinking into a pit of utter blackness that suffocated him, and he couldn't escape. he was falling, and he actually felt it, into his own conscience. his vision became a small screen, like he was watching television, and soon he started moving on his own. he gasped slightly, seeing himself move across the bridge like it was nothing.

he felt it wobble underneath his feet, and he couldn't stop moving.

"hey!" he called out, from inside this pitch-black room, the only light being his own vision, set up like a movie, on him like a spotlight.

his voice resonated throughout the room, however big it was, and soon, he began to feel at ease. he didn't mind that he was probably the only one here, or maybe not, but he was fine. he saw a loose bolt at the side of the bridge, seeing himself shuffle towards it.

"hey, stop!" josh called, but to no one.

he kicked the bolt, disguising it as a stumble, seeing the bolt fall into the darkness below him. his heart was pumping hard in his chest as he saw himself come up to tyler across the bridge, looking back at jenna right behind him. he couldn't hear anything, but the field of vision snapped towards his left, where the post of the bridge had slid out from its placement in the ground. the bridge rotated to its side, jenna slipping and holding onto the rope on the other side of it. she was screaming, josh could tell, but he couldn't hear exactly what she was saying.

_stop! don't save her, she'll just get in the way._

the weight of the bridge was uneven, and soon the other post gave way to josh's right.

"no!" he shouted, trying his best to claw his way back up to the screen of what he was seeing, shouting more, doing anything he could to try and get to jenna himself.

_stop!_

"jenna!"

by the time he got back in tune with his body, the bridge was already falling, jenna not on the ledge with them at all. 


	20. ?

tyler watched in shock, his eyes glossing over.

he's seen people die before, but  _fuck,_ not like that. that was his  _friend._ he sank to his knees, feeling his chest begin to rise and fall rapidly again, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of the horror and fear on jenna's face, trying to get rid of the guilt that sat in his chest, trying to get rid of the sadness that he was feeling.

something was happening, and this just proved it. he wouldn't give a shit about someone dying. you don't get attached to others that you meet, and he should be used to this. but he couldn't help but feel terrible, trying to hold back tears.

he was sick.

josh rushed over to him, sitting on his heels and taking tyler into his arms, holding his shaking frame.

"j-josh, jenna just  _f-fucking_ died!" tyler exclaimed, his voice raising in pitch as he curled in on himself against josh's chest, burying his face in his shoulder.

josh only shushed him, hugging him tighter and kissing the top of his head, trying to calm himself down as well. he could see tyler was weaker now when it came to things like this, seeing as he seemed to care more about it. he couldn't bring himself to cry, or feel sad by it.

tyler was still shaking, trying to calm himself down through deep breaths.

"we need to go, killjoy." josh said after a few moments of listening to tyler, remembering they were supposed to be doing something.

tyler nodded silently, pulling away from josh and standing up, waiting for him to do the same.

"it's okay, you have me. i'll keep you safe." josh said, his tone calm and reassuring, and surprisingly it helped tyler feel better, despite everything.

"i'm sorry." tyler spoke immediately, feeling like a burden.

"no, baby. don't apologize. we're doing this together, like we said." josh took tyler's hand in his, squeezing it gently. "let's go."

tyler felt sick again, taking a few shaky steps before having josh lead him down the ledge. the air was still, and the shadows grew darker as he began to get scared of what was there. he'd never been here before, and night was falling. the black-blue of the sky had settled in quickly.

josh looked up at the moon that was making its way through the sky, seeing the faint wisps of clouds smother it. something was going to happen tonight; he'd never seen that before. an unnerving feeling sat atop josh's shoulders, dragging its nails down his spine and tugging at his ears. night fell so quickly, yet it shouldn't be past five o'clock.

"josh, i don't want to be here anymore."

tyler hadn't seen josh's eyes glow.

"we need to get you help, tyler. i know what happened to you, i could feel it. you're turning back, and you don't want to, because then you'll die. someone, or something, might kill you for good this time."

tyler let go of josh's hand and opted for hugging himself instead. josh was freaking him out. what else did he know?

"what?" tyler asked, looking into josh's hazel eyes.

that was such a strange thing to say, especially now. what's happening? 


	21. church

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay! i have the ending planned out and need to just fill it in. here's an update! hopefully the story isn't too unrealistic (ik it's a vamp fiction but still :/) 
> 
> please let me know what you think!
> 
> enjoy!

josh and tyler were still in their silence, tyler trying to think. what happened back there, really? was it his fault that jenna died?

he didn't even notice they were closing in on a town, darkened by the purple hue of the night and illuminated by the moon. it was straight out of a horror movie, if he was being honest. their dusty dirt trail slowly progressed into a gravel walkway, dark, round stones shining in the light.

"jenna's gone, how are we going to find the person she was talking about?"

"split up?"

"are you crazy? jenna said not to,  _plus_ we've never been here before." tyler said, shaking his head and quickly dissolving the idea.

"if we see people in this town, then we should."

tyler sighed, trying to come up with a better plan. he couldn't.

"look, there's people here." josh said, feeling somewhat relieved at the fact that they weren't alone, yet feeling terrified nonetheless.

these things could do anything to them. they both got closer to each other, slowing down their pace as they closed in on a small booth near the entrance gate. it's as if they were trying to keep something out. the window of the booth slid open silently, someone peeking their head out. their eyes were blue, hair a dirty blonde.

"hi, travelers. you have a message?" the guy asked, his gruff voice heavy with an accent that tyler couldn't decipher.

he looked at josh, but he couldn't tell what he was thinking. his eyes were cascaded by the darkness of the towering buildings beyond the gate.

"ergo et in nobis, et nobiscum erit manere unum reditus."

tyler and the man in the booth shared a horrified look as they stared at josh, breaking the silence when he scrambled to the gate, pressing buttons quickly and letting the gate open.

"go, go. and leave quickly if that's the case."

tyler stayed back while josh began to walk through the gates, shaking. when did josh learn that? not knowing what he said nor what he meant, added onto the way he started acting, even  _more_ sinister now that they came here? he was considering just going back by himself, waiting out the reversing sequence and living a human life again. he couldn't be here, the thing he came here with...that wasn't josh.

"are you coming?" he asked, breaking tyler out of his thoughts.

"n-no. i'll wait here for you."

"tyler, you want to help yourself or not?"

tyler swallowed, looking at the ground. of course, he did, just not with josh.

"o-okay. let's just split up then, like you said."

josh nodded softly, waiting for tyler to catch up with him before he started moving again.

"i'll go into that shop right there." josh pointed to an old, rickety, run-down looking shack as soon as they entered the gates.

the sign was in latin, and barely readable, but apparently josh knew what it was saying since he just spoke it not too long ago. tyler was still wary of him, but he nodded anyway, just relieved that he'd have a few moments to himself. it was then he began to notice the stares of the people in this area.

well, monsters.

he recognized other vampires, by the way their eyes glowed golden in the moonlight, or the faintly outline of red light surrounding them. they were watching, silent and still as if waiting for them to make a wrong move. more and more people began to step out of their houses and peer at who or what was entering their town, causing a chill to course through tyler.

josh seemed indifferent.

"what are you looking for, traveler?" a voice from the crowd broke tyler out of his thoughts, and he waited for josh to answer.

he had left him a while ago.

"oh, uh...i'm here for someone who can help me get my powers back."

"what do you mean, 'back'? you're human." he was older, his back weakened by scoliosis and his face dragged down by age.

tyler shook his head. "n-no. i'm almost there, that's why i'm here."

"you're long gone, traveler. he can't help you." another man, his hair straight and black as night.

"who? what's his name?"

"pat. he lives down the road. try not to get lost, traveler." he gave a smile, holding something other than politeness.

the crowd split into a narrow passageway, tyler swallowing and trying to ignore their stares as he began to pass through. he felt something slash his arm as he passed through, rushing through the passageway and looking back at whoever cut him. he saw a woman lick her finger, her snake eyes curving as she smiled wickedly at him.

"you'll make a good meal soon, traveler."

tyler felt like screaming. how the hell did he get into this mess? he'd rather suffer on earth than in whatever this hole was, where people were planning on eating him  _already._  he needed to get to pat as quickly as he could, otherwise he would be dead. the crowd quickly disbanded after tyler passed them, but he could still feel stares following him down the road.

tyler passed shack after shack, seemingly abandoned buildings and creepy houses littered the streets. he hated this place, the further he strayed the more terrified he got. this town was full of secrets, and tyler wanted to get out before he even remotely came close to them. he followed the path down to a small church, the third point of the cross chipped off and buried somewhere underneath the rest of the building. parts of it were rotted and crumbly. the trees were bare and black in the night, the only noises were the rustling of crows landing on their branches.

"is this correct?"

"h-hey, who are you looking for?"

tyler startled, turning around and seeing someone, their eyes golden and surrounded by shadows. his skin was tanned and his hair was a fading platinum blonde. he seemed to appear from nowhere, yet there were trees around them, so he might have come from a different path. he seemed familiar, but tyler was sure he hadn't seen him before.

"pat."

"oh, yeah, he's in there. wears a cool little hat."

"th-thanks." tyler said, nerves getting the best of him as he walked up to the church. "wait, who are you?" he asked, his hand resting on the door.

"i'm pete." 


	22. purgatory

tyler instantly got chills entering the old church.

the roof so much higher than it looked outside, with stained glass and icons decorating the inside. these weren't regular pictures, though. a black figure, eyes bright blue, with four long arms positioned in abnormal directions were in place of the standard jesus.

this wasn't a typical church.

"ah, welcome, traveler!" a man who tyler assumed was pat clapped his hands together among seeing him.

he had platinum blonde hair, too; almost the same as pete, yet it was lighter. it was tucked underneath a hat, the one pete mentioned.

"hi, pat?"

pat gave a cheeky smile, nodding. "i hope our citizens didn't give you too much trouble out there?"

"none at all." tyler lied, looking at the ground, beginning to get scared again.

"come here." pat said, sitting down on the velvet carpet that draped the podium.

the moon was shining directly down on him, tyler seeing his eyes change in the light. he wasn't a vampire though, something else. he seemed friendly enough, yet tyler wouldn't dare go closer.

"you don't trust me. understandable. what if i tell you something truthful about you and um, what's his name? josh?"

tyler's breath hitched. "how do you know about josh?"

"i just know that he's trapped somewhere between human and vampire. that person you came here with isn't really josh, but i assume you knew that already."

he did, just didn't want to think about it.

"i could help you. come here."

tyler walked slowly over to pat, sitting down a few feet in front of him, crossing his legs. pat had already assembled a bowl and stove, beginning to fill it: dried herbs, cut vegetables, liquids, and spices. 

he studied it.

"what, you think i'm making a potion? you look hungry, might as well eat some soup." pat said, seeing tyler's weary expression and laughing.

tyler blew out a breath. "i can only drink blood. it tastes terrible, but really, nothing can help me."

"and that's why you're here. believe me, this will help."

tyler's brown eyes focused on the orange glow and slight warmth of the flame on the burner stove, watching pat stir it slowly until it thickened. it smelled really good, and tyler was actually starting to want it. besides that, he couldn't help but feel alright with pat. despite getting himself into a completely fucked up situation - he had people waiting on him to turn, he didn't know who josh was anymore, he missed jenna, and he would be a meal on legs soon if he didn't get help. but pat seemed to give off the sense that it was alright, down here in this creepy, seemingly empty church.

he would rather stay here if not back home.

"drink it. you'll feel better."

tyler sighed, holding the handles of the soup and waiting for it to cool enough for him to drink it. he'd seen everything pat had put into it, herbs and spices, familiar to him as he would watch josh cook sometimes.

it was fine.

he surprised himself, to say the least, with how quickly he finished the soup. it was very good, and made him feel warm inside.

wait, never mind that. it was changing. not warm, but...tingly?

"what was in that soup?" tyler asked, out of curiosity, but his worries vanished and face fell slack upon seeing pat's purple eyes glowing in the dimness of the church.

"you're okay." pat held up two fingers directly in front of tyler's eyes. "you're supposed to trust me, remember? i'm going to help you. on the count of three, i want you to sink."

"what?"

"one...two..."

tyler felt extremely tired, like he could take the longest nap any minute. he was fighting to stay awake, wondering what the hell pat was doing.

"sink."

"wai-"

_"sink."_

tyler delved into his own body, his entire being, almost immediately. the adrenaline felt when free-falling was slowed, he felt it heavy, but not overwhelming. he sank into himself, surrounded by pitch black except for the light coming from his field of vision, like a huge television screen. a soft purple enveloped him as pat got closer to his face.

"i'm painting a sigil on your face, to help you stay connected. you're okay. trust me! find josh!"

tyler made a face. how the hell was he supposed to do anything surrounded by all this darkness? for the second time in his life, he felt completely alone. he hadn't felt this way even when josh had started to act strange, but right now, he was terrified. he was by himself in a foreign place once again, standing on a black floor with even more black around him.

"how?!" tyler screamed at pat, but it looked like he couldn't hear him.

pat's eyes had reverted to their dark normality as he got busy with whatever he was doing. tyler sighed in nerves and annoyance, looking around his area and hugging himself.

_find josh. yeah, right. he's already gone._

he took a few steps, stopping, because it felt like he didn't really move at all. his television screen was still in its place, the shadows around him the same.

"josh?" he called, getting no answer.

he didn't really know what he was expecting, but what else could he do?

"josh?!"

the more tyler called josh's name, the more he realized that he probably was never going to see him again. not the real one, at least. he would be plagued with memories of what they used to be, how they were before everything turned shitty. it seemed like the more he tried to fix it, the worse things got. he felt his heart ache, his body quiver. he sat down, feeling his nose begin to sting as he thought about the guy who he fell in love with, the one who made him feel like something when he was nothing. he wasn't here anymore, and tyler hated himself for it.

he buried his face in his hands, feeling warm tears seep between his hands and eyes.

"it's no use. he's fucking gone." tyler shook his head at himself, angry.

he sat there for a while, getting his frustrations and emotions out. he took deep breaths, before deciding to just leave. he looked up, trying to see if he could get patrick to get him out of here.

but, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone here.

tyler looked up, seeing a figure surrounded by the shadows. he quickly got to his feet, a chill ran down his spine, his puffy eyes widened with fear. the person moved towards him again, but stopped when he saw tyler's expression.

"ty?" he recognized that voice from anywhere, only this time it was rejuvenated, full of energy, like the one he was used to. "it's me, killjoy. why do you look so scared?" 


	23. return

"josh? wh-"

"yeah, i know. i'm kinda stuck here, too." josh said, stepping into the television screen's dim lighting and letting tyler take a look at him.

tyler walked up to him, taking in his features. he reached out a hand to josh's head, running a hand through his soft hair, to his cheek. josh took tyler's hand in his own, leaning into his touch.

"i missed you, killjoy." from his voice, he really did.

"please, tell me what's going on." tyler said, his eyebrows coming together.

"i don't really know myself. here, come sit."

tyler rolled his eyes with a smile when josh tugged him by his hand, only to move a few steps and sit on the floor.

"from what i know, all the books and comics and stuff, this place is called purgatory. it's pitch black and empty because no one is really here. well, there are people here, but not with us right now. they have their own space. everyone else is fully attached to their bodies. this is where people like me stay. why are you here, though?"

"pat, the healer."

"ah, so you found him? good, he could help us" josh nodded, "i'm here because i'm a dhampir, but they were never really supposed to exist, so they got stuck in purgatory." josh slowed down and smiled at tyler's face, "you lost?"

"i...i don't get it. how are you a dhampir? those were run into extinction, i remember the day."

"i guess one survived, because that's what bit me. if she had been a full vamp, i'd be rocking the red eyes and pale skin. my eyes change color sometimes, but not often, like yours did."

"why are you so chill about being here? i wouldn't be able to stand it."

"it's because i could switch in between purgatory and the real life. my television is over there, but every time i'm in control i could feel this place trying to drag me back in, and it gets real tiring trying to stay put while it's basically clawing at me to come here."

"what the fuck," tyler shook his head, tugging at his hair. this was all so, so strange.

"i know, i know. but it gets better. you know those stories of the missing?"

tyler swallowed, "yeah..."

"they're not dead, nor missing. they're here, in purgatory. their bodies are here, roaming the streets and trees that surround this place."

"how do we find them?"

"either way, we can't save them. this town that you see, is only visible to the supernatural. i bet any person would see dead end roads and fields, because that's what's in the back of the mall, behind the huge rocks that block off the highway. not this town."

"so, the town's not even real?"

"realistically, it's not."

"josh, this is crazy. so we're in a fake town with fake monsters. how am i gonna get you out of here?"

"see if pat can help. i hate being here, ty. i try to control myself, but when i can't the person that's out there is hurting people, and letting people die. jenna? i could have saved her, but he didn't let it happen."

"what are you talking about?"

"he kicked a loose bolt from the bridge, but by the time i was able to get to him the bridge had already fallen."

"so jenna's death was your fault?"

"no, not me. i told you, i tried, but i can't control him."

"when did this start?" tyler tilted his head.

"a few days after i was bitten. i barely had control over myself. i killed leon apparently, and... tyler, i'm not a killer!" josh said, his voice afflicted, "i'm so sorry if i hurt your feelings, for anything. i promise you, that wasn't me. we're going to get each other out of here, okay? and go back to how we were." josh nodded optimistically, smiling when tyler smiled and looked at his lap.

"you make it sound so easy."

"of course, it's going to be easy. it's me and you we're talking about. we're gonna take over the world."

"tyler, you're coming back. hurry up if you've found him!" pat said, tyler seeing him in his television.

"shit, okay. i'll try to come back again, okay?"

josh nodded, getting up when tyler did. "i love you, killjoy."

tyler grabbed the back of josh's neck and pressed his lips to his, silently saying it back. it was like the one before they got into this, full of longing. he pulled back, josh watching as he flickered like a broken flashlight, before disappearing for good. his television screen was gone, too.

josh sighed, feeling his heart beating in nerves and anticipation for what he was going to try to do. he walked back over to his own television screen, his eyes blowing wide and his heart sinking.

there, in his field of view, was jenna, standing ruggedly with torn clothes and wild hair. 


	24. zero

josh fought through purgatory, trying to stay in tune with himself as he saw jenna. she was standing on the path he was on, a few feet away. fresh blood oozed from her nose and cuts from her body, her face caked with dirt and her frame looking tattered.

"i thought you died." josh said, his eyebrows coming together.

"you tried it. didn't work." jenna said, her normally icy eyes darkened with anger.

"no, no. that wasn't me. it was him." josh tried, knowing that jenna probably thought he was being dumb.

"him?"

josh sighed, trying to keep it blunt. "i'm a dhampir."

jenna shook her head. "those died out years ago. i remember."

"exactly, but me and ty are trying to fix it."

"i think i could help you out quicker. the ruler of the town, his name is brendon. he's here somewhere, but he could help you get back to either one."

"either one?"

"vampire or human. i'm taking you there."

"well, then we need to tell tyler. he'd want to-"

"no. we need to hurry. telling him would just make him worry." jenna said, coming up to josh.

"but jenna-"

jenna held up her hand, like she was holding something, and josh watched as a cloud of blue started swirling into her hand. her eyes were piercing again, like when she first came to josh's house. she reached her other hand out and wrapped her cold fingers around josh's throat, making him look at her.

"you're going, yes?"

josh tried to resist, but this was something other than what normal vampires do. her eyes weren't purple, and she wasn't holding two fingers up to his face. it was like he was getting sucked into that cloud of blue in her hand. he tried so hard to get out of her grip until he felt something come out of his eyes.

_blood._

"wh-what are you  _doing?"_

"brendon's promised me something good, and i'm getting it." jenna smiled wickedly.

"you're not j-jenna."

"no. she's dead. but i found her body and i must say, her skin is quite fitting."

"fucking... _shapeshifter."_

jenna smiled, and before josh could say anything else, his eyes began to glow that same blue that jenna had, and his mind went blank. he felt purgatory clawing at his skin, tugging at his soul, and he gave in. he sank, floating down into himself and panicking.

"come on." he said to himself, not putting up a fight; it was absolutely no use.

he watched as jenna turned around, and he followed her down the darkened path she came out of.

___

zero, cole, and isaac walked down his neighborhood's street, clad in beat-up sneakers and old hand me downs.

zero had stopped wearing turtlenecks, as isaac had convinced him he looked like a grandma and his pride couldn't handle that. the bites were visible to everyone, and he was sure he was getting stares from the people that passed by, but whatever. the person who did this was going to pay. the sun had gone in, but it was still early in the afternoon, so that meant rain soon. he picked up his pace a bit quicker as he headed to josh's.

he turned the corner of josh's street, passing house after house until he reached the one he remembered egging a few months ago. he felt uneasy going up to the door, if he was being honest. this house felt empty and deprived.

"creepy as fuck, man." isaac said, looking up at the window of josh's bedroom.

"i don't even think he's here."

"then we wait for him." zero said. "i'm not leaving until i get my revenge. he has me walking around with two holes in my neck."

"that's gnarly, dude." cole said, going in front of the two and facing the door. "i will now demonstrate the proper technique of judo."

"dude, you did judo, like, once when you were ten."

"shhh. you don't need to do something for long to learn from it."

zero rolled his eyes and waited for cole to kick open the door. he did, destroying its locks, and they burst in.

"you witch! where are you?" zero called, his deep voice bellowing throughout the empty house.

the house was dark, the only light being from the outside, and even then, it was getting darker with the weather. the air was still, like no one had been in here for days.

"i'll take the kitchen, cole will take the other half, and zero you got upstairs?" isaac asked, looking around the space.

"sounds like a plan."

after a moment of searching around upstairs, vandalizing josh's things and finding nothing, he came back down, shrugging at cole.

"guess we're waiting." zero said.

"if he doesn't come back by tonight, i'm going home." isaac said, taking a bite from the sandwich he just made in the kitchen.

"dude, did you even look around?" zero asked isaac, referring to the sandwich in his hands as he shut the door as best as he could.

"yeah, his fridge had some good stuff in there."

zero rolled his eyes and sat with them on the couch, waiting by the door for the witch to come home.


	25. sigil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey peoples!
> 
> so i've FINALLY written the end to this story, i just need to polish them and get rid of any plot holes, and then i'll post them for you to read! this will probably be a bit longer than blackwhite, my bad for such a long story.
> 
> but thank you so much for reading this far, y'all! we're almost done! it means a ton that you stuck with this book, no matter how indecisive i was about it. 
> 
> enjoy!

sweat-slicked hair stuck to josh's forehead as he panted, trying to catch his breath and not focus on the sharp pains from his arm.

josh had been in here for what seemed like a few days. he didn't know where tyler was, where  _he_ was or what this new jenna was going to do to him. he was tied up by his wrists in what seemed like a little room, the singular light in the middle of the room swinging and flickering. 

"it's time for your daily vaccination, josh. don't move!" jenna chirped as she entered the room, looking up at the light and making a face. "i gotta tell brendon to get that fixed."

"what the hell is he doing this for?"

"he was the doctor before pat took over. apparently, no one liked him, because he was too smart for the people living here. he did experiments on his subjects, to try and make medicines to cure them of the supernatural, but he never got the chance to finish. however, when i brought you here, he was so excited. your kind had been destroyed, right?"

josh looked at jenna with a look that screamed death, and she giggled at him.

"you're never going to kill me, sweetie. he's going to harness your vampire power and create a whole new race. you're quite powerful, you know." she nodded and raised up a syringe filled with what josh assumed was holy water, and she managed to stick it into josh's still sensitive arm, despite the constant struggle.

he felt the burn flow throughout his entire arm, squeezing his eyes shut. tears prickled at his eyes and he arched his back against the wall he rested on, screaming in agony at the searing fluid in his arm.

"fucking  _stop!_ " josh said, jerking his arm from the needle and seeing jenna pull it out.

"you're lucky it wasn't a lot." jenna spat at him, turning away and tossing the syringe in the trash.

she slammed the door to the room shut, josh trying to regain himself. he felt purgatory nipping at him, and surprisingly, he let himself sink. one of the best things of purgatory was that he couldn't feel anything at all, and he only tried to get in tune with himself to talk to jenna, and see if she would stop, but of course, she didn't. he felt stuck, though; he couldn't get tyler or pat to help him now.

he'd just have to figure it out himself.

he sat down on the black floor, looking up into his television screen and seeing the same things he saw for the past few days in that room.

he was screwed.

___

"have you found a cure yet? some sort of solution?" tyler asked, finishing up the last of patrick's soup.

"n-no. not yet. i'm still working on it." patrick said, flipping through old, brown pages of a leather-covered book.

tyler peeked over, his eyes scanning through creepy drawings and latin. he couldn't read that.

"how come i can't read latin, but you and josh can?" he asked bluntly, setting the bowl on the carpet next to the stove.

"you probably were never taught. you said you didn't know where you came from, right? maybe your nest just wasn't latin speakers." pat said, shrugging.

"ah." tyler nodded; so he wasn't being left out of a secret cult. "wait, but how does that explain josh?"

"josh is a whole other thing. he's a dhampir, so the vampire part of him is more powerful than you or me. we don't know. it says here that in order to separate them from each other, you'd need a tool, but that's a potential threat."

"how so?"

"well, where would we put the vampire part? if we inject him with this serum that's in here, that could potentially wipe out the rest of us."

"what, so josh is like a vampire king or something?" tyler laughed, his smile disappearing when pat held his serious expression.

"maybe, man. he's apparently really powerful, but yet, it's not josh. it's him."

"him?"

"when he leaves his body, when you saw him in purgatory, right?"

"oh, so the person controlling him is the vampire part of the dhampir."

"exactly."

"how do we get him out?"

"i told you, the serum, but it would wipe out the rest of the vampires. every one of us is linked to the dhampir."

"maybe that's why all those kids went missing, because they were brought here to make more vampires. what if that happened to me?" tyler asked, his voice holding newfound discovery.

"maybe." pat shrugged. "that might be a good point. i'm going to get you to sink again, see if you could find where josh's at."

tyler nodded, facing pat fully and watching as he blinked, and his eyes were glowing lavender. pat sighed, focusing on getting into the procedure so he could find a way to help tyler and josh at the same time. if he was being honest, what he found out counteracted them, in a sense. if he were to help josh, tyler and the rest of them would be wiped out. if he helped tyler, josh would still be the same, except more powerful.

he didn't know what was best.

"on my count, you're going to sink."

on pat's command, tyler felt the slowed adrenaline rush, and his widescreen vision became smaller and smaller until he was standing on the black floors of purgatory and looking up at what he was seeing. pat was drawing sigils on his face, and he would go back to studying when he was done.

tyler looked to his right, seeing a faint light shining down on top of a figure sitting down with their knees to their chest, darkened by the shadows.

"josh?" he called out, but his voice in a harsh whisper, just in case he wasn't.

"ty?" the figure looked over, standing up.

tyler walked over to him, seemingly taking forever as there was no way to determine the distance of him on this pitch-black floor. the closer to josh he got, the worse he looked. his frame was slouched over, and his expression – from what tyler could see – was frustration. as soon as he saw tyler, he pulled him into a hug, shutting his eyes and trying to calm himself.

"i missed you."

"you saw me a few days ago." tyler smiled, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"exactly."

"what's going on?"

josh sighed, "come into my office."

that would never fail to make him smile. he walked a few feet so that they were right in the middle of his television screen, josh sitting down and motioning for tyler to do the same.

"i'm in a room. belongs to brendon, some ancient witch doctor. he's trying to make a new race out of my vampire side."

"you're supposed to be really powerful. there are more to dhampirs than we thought."

"i don't want to do this anymore." josh sighed, rubbing his face.

"me and pat are going to try and help you. we're close. there's a formula that can separate the vampire from the human." tyler said, making hand gestures.

"really?" josh looked at him with hope, his eyebrows raised.

tyler nodded. "we're trying."

"tyler, come on." pat's voice was faint, over in tyler's screen.

"i'm gonna start flickering again." tyler said, standing up.

he studied josh's television screen again, seeing what he was surrounded with. typical room, there was a bed, a door, the broken light on the ceiling.

"there's a sigil."

"a warding? i think." josh said, seeing it too.

tyler trained his eyes on the sigil before he felt himself being pulled to reality. it looked familiar, but he made sure to get it into his mind as best as he could. it was simple – an eye with decorative patterns underneath it. it was drawn in blood, dried and glistening in that flickering room light.

soon, he flickered himself, and josh was alone again, bringing his knees up to his chest and sighing.


	26. get out

tyler woke up, blinking a few times and seeing pat smile and wave at him.

"i...i think i got something." tyler said, sitting up slowly.

he felt his entire body ache, making a face. he looked at his hands, seeing as the faint hue of purple veins that decorated them had disappeared.

he was almost there.

"-tyler?"

"hmm?"

"i asked what did you see?"

"he...had a warning sigil on the room of the door." tyler said, trying to keep his concerns under control.

the townspeople here were right. he'd been food as soon as he came in. he needed to work fast. this wasn't about him anymore, josh needed his help. he'd gotten him into this, and he promised him he'd get him out, no matter what.

"what did it look like?" pat asked, flipping through one of his old books, a sigil painted onto each page with what tyler assumed was latin.

"an eye." tyler shrugged. "it looked egyptian."

"hmmm...eye of horus."

pat ripped a page out of the book, showing tyler the symbol. "this is a warding against evil spirits. it's basically him saying 'don't come in'."

"so i can't go in." tyler said, remembering the night he burned the nest.

the pain of his headache, the blood clouding his vision, the ringing in his ears. he sighed, his heart sinking when he thought about it.

"you can, but it'd be like going into a house uninvited. it sucks, but you wanna help josh, right?"

"i have to." tyler nodded. "do you know where he might be?"

"only one person has that sigil. he's dangerous, but he might be planning something even worse. let's go."

"wait, what if we die?"

pat shrugged, making a face. "what could we do?"

tyler sighed, trying to come up with a better plan rather than just bursting in and fighting the man to death. he didn't know what he was up against, where josh even was, or what would happen. he looked over at pat gathering things he'd need from a small closet across the podium, passing tyler a machete.

he looked down at, the light reflecting off of the shiny, serrated blade. he blew out a breath, tyler looking up at the moon through the hole in the ceiling. despite it being a full moon, it almost felt too bright to him. he wasn't feeling anything different, nor was he affected, yet he still knew that he'd get screwed when he went to josh.

"let's go."

___

pat and tyler walked down the same path of the church, going back into the town.

"traveler! we told you, pat cannot help you!" the same old man that had pointed out tyler when he first got here hobbled out of what looked like a bar, raising his cane angrily at him.

"and who are you to tell him what i can and can't do?" pat asked, giving him a stern look.

"i-i'm sorry, healer. we just don't want you to waste your time." the old man ducked his head.

"leave us." pat waved his hand at them, going through the crowd of people that began to form. "and stay inside."

"why?"

pat dismissed them, looking back at tyler and keeping his voice low. "prepare yourself."

tyler went back to remembering the night when josh died, how his blood was everywhere and he couldn't save him. he felt pathetic, useless almost. he didn't want to revisit that; maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

pat had eventually dissolved the crowd, but even with keeping his head down, tyler felt their stares embedding into his back and burning through his skin. he sighed, keeping a grip on the handle of the machete in his jean loops and following patrick down the road. he nodded to the gatekeeper who tyler had seen before and took a separate path than what he and josh did when they first got here.

"we thought brendon fell off when half of the population was wiped out, but apparently he's still here." pat spoke up, feeling tyler's timid energy.

"brendon?"

"a witch doctor. he contracted the power from truth, the god you probably saw in the church. who knows what he's doing with josh."

"josh told me he's trying to make a new race from his powers." tyler said, shaking his head and looking at the ground again at how ridiculous it sounded.

"then we need to hurry. he should be right past the trees, where the warding village was."

"was?"

"wiped out by truth himself."

"you know the plan?"

"uh," tyler thought about it, realizing he really didn't, "no."

"here," pat handed tyler a capped syringe filled with pearlescent fluid, swirling around the container as it moved.

"what's this for?" tyler asked.

"the serum. i found the recipe for it, but it had certain repercussions. they listed way too many, apparently, they're all different. hopefully, i made a good batch." pat said, his footsteps quiet on the dirt path.

tyler raised his eyebrows, and his heart beat in anticipation as he listened to pat. repercussions?

"look; i'll distract brendon, you get josh out of there, and  _run."_

"what? won't he try to kill you?" tyler asked, giving pat a look.

"won't he try to kill you? this town isn't even supposed to exist once you think about it."

"what does that mean?"

pat turned around, looking at him, his pale eyebrows coming together in the middle of his forehead.

"get out before you die with it." 


	27. end of the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, here's the last chapter! it's extremely long, but this is it, guys! it's this and then the epilogue. 
> 
> thank you again for sticking through with this! :)
> 
> enjoy!

tyler immediately felt a sense of dread wash over his being as soon as he looked at the next run-down church they ran into.

it was broken down and definitely abandoned, but josh was in there and was probably getting tortured, thanks to him. pat seemed unafraid, taking one quick look at the front door and going inside. tyler reluctantly followed him, trying his best to stay on his guard through his fear.

he stayed close to pat, looking around the interior. sigils and icons of the same god, truth, were strewn on the dirty white walls, except they were messily crossed out in what looked like red paint. messages and holes decorated the inside of the church. nightfall wasn't doing any justice for it, either. the moonlight shined through cracks in the roof, illuminating the chapel slightly.

"he might be in the basement." pat said, looking around pensively.

tyler followed pat further into the church, opening a creaky door and stopping.

"down there."

tyler faintly saw the flickering of a light, down a flight of wooden stairs. there were nails sticking out of the sides of the last step, and the wood was soggy and old. pat, of course, went down first, resting his hand on the knife in his pocket after taking the cover off of the blade. 

"brendon! get out here!" pat called, his voice echoing through the room.

his footsteps caused the boards to squeak underneath them, tyler feeling unsettled the farther they got. he spotted the same sigil poorly drawn on one of the walls in the dim light, and a shot of hope ran through him.

"josh is here, look."

pat looked up and saw it, too, but he seemed less enthusiastic with it. "that means we're not welcomed here. you should start feeling-"

tyler groaned, then hissed in pain as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"that."

it was like he was back at the nest again. there was so much blood, and pain wrapped up in just a few hours. he wasn't terrified like how he was back then, it was a different feeling, something just as bad. he hated being there, and he hated being here even more. he felt his eyes start to bleed, blinking the red blur from his vision.

"let's be quick."

"it won't be, but we could try." pat said, opening a door carefully.

tyler peeked behind him, stopping in his tracks when he saw jenna there, closing a door.

"jenna?" he asked, seeing her battered frame dimly lit by the flickering light behind them.

"tyler! you're okay!" she said, bounding up to them. "i thought you were in trouble."

pat moved back, letting them have their space.

"i thought you died." tyler said, his expression holding disbelief as he looked at her. "you look...awful."

"i prefer terrible, but okay." jenna smiled, reaching a hand out and touching tyler's shoulder.

tyler instantly felt more relaxed at jenna's presence, so glad that she was alive.

"what are you doing here?" he asked her.

"um...looking for josh. apparently, he was here, but i don't know where he is now." she shook her head, looking at the ground.

"brendon?"

"i don't know. are you trying to save him?" jenna asked, making eye contact and keeping her grip on tyler's shoulder.

"yeah, i'm-"

tyler stopped talking, feeling a sharp pain on the right side of his stomach. his eyes blew wide as he looked down to see jenna had plunged a knife into his body. the dull ache grew worse and worse the more he stared at it and made it real, his shirt beginning to get stained in blood. he dropped his weapon, feeling his body shake in agony.

"i'm afraid you can't do that, ty."

"wh...who are you?" he choked out, blood staining his lips.

"don't worry about me. you're-"

tyler startled at the sharp sound of a knife slicing through the air, jenna's head hitting the wall with a loud thump. tyler couldn't stop shaking, staring at jenna's lifeless body on the floor, then at pat holding a bloody machete in his hand.

"take this, we don't have much time. she was a shapeshifter." pat handed tyler the machete and went down the hall.

he opened the door quickly, seeing josh lying there, his eye beaten shut and his shirt bloody from the numerous wounds inflicted on him before they got there. tyler quickly put the machete in his jean loops and tried his best to move, leaning on the wall for support as he tried to keep pressure on his stomach. he didn't have much time.

"go, go!" pat said, his voice raised as he went back up the stairs. "brendon! come out, now!"

tyler swallowed down the coppery taste in his mouth, getting a sense of adrenaline and hurrying into the next room. he hissed as excruciating pain wavered throughout his entire body, making his vision even more blurry. his head was spinning, and he could practically feel his brain pounding against his skull, but he pushed on to the open door.

he saw him, beaten and worn. seeing him made him pull as much as he could of himself together, getting over there quickly and untying his hands from the chair they were suspended on.

"josh? hey!" tyler kept his voice low, but upon speaking, josh stirred.

his face was bruised and bloody, his arms and chest holding gashes. they really did a number on him. he was by a huge window that overlooked the town right in front of him, pat's church in the center, like how they saw before. 

"ty? what are you doing here? you have to g-go, brendon is around," he mumbled, trying to adjust to the flickering lights in the room.

tyler did his best to get josh up, groaning as his wound bleeding heavily with the added pressure of josh on his shoulder.

"hey, you're...you're hurt. why are you here?"

"to save you, stupid." tyler said with a smile, making josh do the same through the bruises on his lip.

"brendon's around."

"s-so? it's you and me we're...t-talking about here." tyler voice was strained as he tried his best to distract josh, making it to the soggy staircase.

he heard glass breaking and yelling coming from the top of the steps, seeing purple and blue lights flash across the room.

pat's found him.

"there's another way. the window." josh said, tyler hurrying to take him down there.

between josh's irregular steps and the added weight, tyler really felt like resting. he knew he shouldn't, and he really had no time, but he was getting sleepier by the second, and his shirt was clinging to him from all the blood he's lost. he set josh down, running on whatever fumes he had left, grabbing the chair josh was tied to and hurling it at the window.

he shoutedin pain as the glass shattered into pieces, raining onto the floor.

"we have to go. he...he definitely heard that." josh said, regaining some of his strength and picking himself up off of the ground.

he went first, careful to place his hands on a smooth area before making his way down the grassy hill underneath the window. tyler began to slowly climb out, feeling the gritty glass cut his palms, but at this point, he could barely feel it.

"you really thought you could save him?" an unfamiliar voice stopped him in his tracks.

he looked back over his shoulder, but instead of a face, he was met with a burst of purple light, knocking him out the window. he rolled over onto rocks and dirt, becoming disoriented as the world started spinning. he reached the bottom of the hill, josh nowhere in his sight. he felt his arms and shoulders had been sliced from the machete now laying in the grass.

a man in a plain white tee followed him out the window, getting down the hill with ease. he had a crazed look in his eye as he smirked at tyler, confident in the outcome. his headache had gone away, and his eyes had stopped bleeding, but that didn't take away from the rest of him.

"i'd give you an 'a' for effort, though. it really does take some balls to come here and do that."

tyler picked himself up, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried not to scream from the pain. his entire body was on  _fire,_ the dull ache in his bones after falling down the hill. the moon cast a terrifying shadow over brendon's body as he came closer to tyler, who reached for the machete.

brendon threw a punch to tyler's face, who quickly recovered and swung. he missed, brendon disappearing from in front of him until he felt his breath on his neck. tyler used all his strength and swung again, barely missing brendon's face.

"whoa, too close."

brendon disappeared again, and in a flash, was in front of tyler. he had no time to react as he felt his fingers close around his throat, squeezing mercilessly. he looked into the sky, and didn't know if it was his vision getting darker or the night. he felt his feet come up off of the ground, his own body worsening his breathing.

"where is he?" brendon demanded, his face scratched up as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"i...i  d-don't...know." tyler got out, trying his best to breathe through brendon's hold.

"wrong answer." he squeezed harder, seeing tyler's face begin to turn purple, "where is he?"

tyler couldn't speak, only wheezing, as his main thought was to breathe. he saw silver specks litter his vision as it began to fade into darkness, his entire body becoming numb. his lungs felt like they were going to shatter as the pain in his chest increased, his heartbeat adding to it.

he was so disappointed in himself. he got josh into this situation and tried to help him, yet it only made him worse. he was going to die here, in some stupid, messed up town, all because of himself. maybe he did deserve this.

he felt brendon release his throat, followed by a groan of pain. tyler fell to the ground, hyperventilating and coughing. he tried to get something into his lungs, holding onto his burning throat and turning on his side. the sounds of struggle began to get louder as he regained himself, looking into the blurred, black trees to see josh hiding behind one.

he ran over to tyler, seeing pat had caught up to him from inside the church, and got tyler to his feet. they managed to not gather brendon's attention as his new focus was trying to kill pat, and ran into the forest.

"the path that takes us back to the bridge is up here." josh said, holding onto tyler's jean loops to keep him up as they hurried through the trees.

the sky turned into an array of colors as brendon and pat attacked each other, pushing their own limits. they couldn't hear them anymore, but the lights in the sky gave them a signal to get out,  _now_. tyler knew it too; if brendon really  _did_  get power from truth, then they'd be done for once he caught up to them.

tyler stumbled as the ground began to tremble, violent tremors making their way throughout the town. the only sound was rumbling, and tyler could barely see trees behind them start to collapse.

"come on, come on!" josh yelled, barely audible, hurrying to the path he mentioned.

tyler began to see it, a complete dirt path that looked familiar when they first got there.

"the bridge is gone!" tyler called, hoping josh could hear him among the rumbling of the earth.

"no, we don't need it! we're on the other side!"

trees fell to the left and right of them, kicking up dirt and fallen leaves. the crows called to each other frantically as they flew away in bunches, adding to tyler's fear. the pain in his throat and stomach wasn't making this any better, and he relied on josh to get him down the path.

"there!" josh said, seeing the run-down cement wall and grey ripples of the hole.

they passed the cabin mentioned earlier, tyler trying not to lose his footing on the shaking ground. he looked back at the town, seeing the sky had erupted in a red glow and the buildings of the town begin to fall.

this really was the end of the world.

josh quickly held his hand out to the hole, seeing it disappear within the ripple.

"it still works. we're getting out of here! come on, tyler!" josh said, ducking slightly to enter the hole.

tyler's heart was bursting with anticipation until something held him back. if he left here with josh, then their trip here would have been for nothing. all the pain josh suffered, would just be added onto the list of things tyler has yet to make up for. he promised josh he would get him out of this mess, hadn't he?

tyler ducked to get into the hole as well, ruffling his nose at the smell of the restroom and concrete. the rumbling of the earth was distant in tyler's ear as he stood in the stall. the hole was slowly beginning to get smaller as the town crumbled behind them.

josh blew out a breath, sweat washing away the blood on his face.

"we...tyler, we..."

he pulled tyler into one of the tightest hugs he'd ever felt, and it just pained tyler's heart even more. he wrapped his arms around josh's frame, closing his eyes and hiding his face in his neck. he tried to calm himself, not sure if it was nerves or the wounds making his body shake.

"i love you, josh. never forget." tyler said, his voice muffled.

"what?" josh asked, letting tyler go, but keeping a hold on his waist. "why did you say-"

tyler had stuck the syringe in josh's throat, pressing his thumb down on the top of it and watching the pearlescent fluid run into his blood. he felt the ache and pressure of his wounds finally getting to him, and couldn't stop his eyes from getting heavy. the hole was closing, but he staggered back towards it.

josh just stared at him in shock, removing the syringe from his throat and beginning to yell when he realized what tyler was about to do.

"never f-forget it, o-okay?" tyler smiled sullenly, but soon was met with the loud rumbles of the town falling as he fell through what was left of the hole in the wall, landing on hard dirt.

he watched the colors swirl in the sky as the world began to end, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. this was worth it, saving josh for good. he lied there, his eyes drooping and his body tired, feeling the earth beneath him cave in as rocks from the hills began to crash down. 

he remembered feeling like static that night at the nest. this was the same thing, except he let himself fall. he felt his body begin dissolve, almost, exhaling heavily with a small smile on his face. he remembered pat saying that the serum could erase them. he probably didn't make the best batch, but it's alright.

between saving josh and staying in this town, he decided he'd be the one to die with it. 


	28. epilogue

josh felt something prodding at his sides, smelling pee and cleaner.

he opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the bright lights of the restroom. he could barely make out the black stall doors surrounding him, a man in a blue jumpsuit staring back at him. the custodian was nudging him with the end of his broom, seeing if he was dead or not.

"hey, kid. i don't know what you're doing, but...the mall closed already. you got a home?"

josh swallowed, rubbing his eyes and picking himself up off the floor. "um...y-yeah."

his voice was crackly and hoarse, making his throat hurt as he spoke.

"get home, then."

josh slowly walked past the burly janitor, his legs feeling weak and his back aching. he passed stall after stall, trying to regain what the hell happened. he barely remembered anything, just school ending what felt like a while ago.

if he was being honest, he felt old.

he knew the way back to his house from here, but barely. the houses looked the same down the street, but he seemed to be on an expressway. he walked down the sidewalk of the expressway, careful not to stagger into the street. it was nighttime, really early in the morning from what josh could tell, so no cars were out.

he felt a sense of terror wash over him, like he was truly alone at night. he remembered he didn't like being out so early in the morning, because of...

well, because of....what?

josh sighed, hitting his hand against his head and trying to remember what he was thinking about. it felt like his brain had a huge blind-spot. it was there, on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't reach it.

because of what?

a car's headlight stung his eyes as they stopped near him, a red minivan. a woman wrapped in a grey cardigan got out, her hair in a messy bun as she hurried toward him with a terrified expression.

"josh! josh, honey, where have you been?!" the lady asked, frantic as she pulled him in for a tight hug.

"what?"

"are you on drugs?" her voice was laced with panic.

"n-no?"

" _please,_ for the love of god, never do this again! you scared the hell out of me!" the lady pushed josh towards her car.

he was so confused.

"what are you doing all the way out here? i pinged your phone and it was right near that mall!"

josh stopped, making the lady halt her movements as well and look at him with a look. she looked familiar. he stared at the ground, looking at the sidewalk for answers.

wait...

"mom?"

"what, honey?" she asked, exasperated.

"i..."

"we need a new door, now. your crazy friends busted it down, looking for you! please, never do this again. i almost called the police, i thought you were taken or something!" his mother's frantic voice rang through the empty expressway.

josh rushed over to her, hugging her tightly. "okay...okay, i'm sorry."

fragments of his mind were coming back together. he remembered school ending, zero threatening him, the bowling alley, the house next door. he remembered going inside, and the fire department coming. but who was he there with? he never had any friends, but he wouldn't go by himself, either.

what the hell?

"come on, i'm taking you home and you are grounded for a week! months! you can't just be taking walks like that! what if-"

josh drowned his mother out, looking out the window and seeing his same old city pass by him. streetlights turned into yellow blurs as they sped past him. he couldn't stop trying to think, but his mind just stopped once he tried to get his thoughts together.

how did he even end up in the restroom?

he thought of a few names he might have heard in the past, but none of them rang a bell. he only matched a face to someone, but he didn't think he'd ever seen him before. he had messy, short, brown hair, and his cheeks seemed to stay rosy. but his teeth...they were sharp and sticking out of his mouth.

ah, now he remembered.

tyler, he was out of one of his lore books. a vampire, it seemed like. josh quickly dismissed the thought, though, smiling to himself at how worked up he got over a mystical being. it was funny, really.

vampires don't even exist.

josh's mother turned on the radio when she had finished ranting to josh, huffing. she had it on the news station, turning up the crackling voice of the reporter. 

_"-ove. the missing peoples had finally been found, unscathed, and will be taken in for questioning. however, as they returned, we seemed to have lost two more. a teenager named pete wentz, seventeen with platinum blonde hair, and another teenager named tyler joseph, brown eyes and brown hair. if you've seen them, please notify the police or news stations in your area."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! so that was it :) 
> 
> i'll probably start to write more joshler fics when the hiatus is over, but for right now, this is gonna be my last joshler fic, if anyone cares :P
> 
> but anyways, thank you again for reading this all the way through! i know it was pretty long, but i hope i made up for the hold and indecisiveness with this sequel. was the ending okay?
> 
> if not, please let me know what you think so i could improve future writing! i love hearing from you guys :)
> 
> \- love, mandi


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